tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53411486307983885102018-03-06T06:41:36.858-08:00The Vice Presidential Action RangersThe geekiest army, doing the coolest shit.The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-24771693760203306702013-10-25T23:29:00.000-07:002013-10-27T22:12:28.297-07:00Did you know Star Wars was a movie? I learned a lot by watching films, including respect. So for me, Star Wars today is like Weekend at Bernies. A rotting corpse being dragged around in exchange for personal gain and profit. Darth Vader isn't a complex and creative character any longer, he's a logo boiled down to just his head. That's all that's needed. Boba Fett, R2-D2, The Millennium Falcon, are all now symbols of two words that mean more in dollars in merchandising than the films themselves. You can't even buy the original films anymore. The original work that broke ground and won awards has been glossed over by a team of chinese sweatshop animators for the sake of keeping them POPULAR, not preserved. Keeping bernie's dead, rigor mortise ridden arm waving at passersby on the beach. If I had a kid and I wanted to explain to them the difference between art and a logo, between creativity and merchandising, between inspiring and patronizing, Star Wars would be the perfect candidate for both.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WQlOtHqmGvw/Um3yLc4VRAI/AAAAAAAAAnw/c6yRjIW-q1o/s1600/funny-nerd-gorl-meme-star-wars-darth-invader-pics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WQlOtHqmGvw/Um3yLc4VRAI/AAAAAAAAAnw/c6yRjIW-q1o/s320/funny-nerd-gorl-meme-star-wars-darth-invader-pics.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-44589192766644147312012-02-05T23:11:00.002-08:002012-02-05T23:26:19.311-08:00Apple keeps doing what it does best. Murdering People.Once again old news is new news. For about 5 years we Action Rangers have been doing our best to make light of Apples and Foxconn's offenses. The awful conditions, the long hours, the abuses, the death by poison, overworking, EXPLOSIONS, and suicide. We told you about how each time Apple said the SAME GODDAMN THING EVERY TIME! They act shocked and appalled and deny it and say they'll fix it. THEN it happens again and they say it all again and no one seems to want to put two and two together! This time 60 minutes and the New York Times noticed it and it got some national press, THEN within a week its now old news again. Huffington Post has already begun running their Juicy Apple Rumors story again like nothing happened. We in our anger emailed that "reporter" on his assfacedness.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Hello, I was just perusing the Tech section of the Huffington Post and I was appalled at how all the stories concerning Foxconn are gone, and we are back to business as usual with Apple Rumors again. Whats the point of news if it doesn't effect change? What good are you as a reporter if you ignore the reality of what your colleagues report on? Apple has committed serious offenses but hey, lets move it aside because there might be an iPad 3! It's a known fact now that when Apple launches a new product, the months before it launches, those workers are pushed to the brink of death to get it out "in time". (I put in time in quotes because such time frames are only set by apple to ensure they make as much as possible each quarter, regardless of who it seems to hurt.) Yet none of that is touched on in your little rumors story. Those people, who would rather die than suffer another grueling day of life building iCrap, can't even get a mention in your story. Even though their suffering seems too tragic to ignore, you seem to be doing your best to do just that. And for what? The excitement of a RUMOR? Please be better at your job because responsible news is falling by the wayside.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">In response Apple has released a listing of its charitable donations, totalling 50 million dollars! WOW. If only they'd use that to offset the "cost" of treating chinese workers fairly. Or GOD FORBID they spend another 50 million from their 100 billion profit margin to do both! Fucking cocksuckers.<br /><br />Linked below is the NYT story. Read it and don't be like huffpo. Remember, especially when you go shopping.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/business/ieconomy-apples-ipad-and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html?_r=2&amp;pagewanted=all">Apple products as bad as blood diamonds.</a><br /></div></div>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-596568994819035742012-02-05T22:36:00.001-08:002012-02-05T22:36:57.244-08:00Dream a little dreamI had a dream I took some friends to a goth club to show them whats up. As soon as we walk in, I'm telling them about it all and then I stop and look over my shoulder, as if I hear something familiar. I become drawn to something, and ask my friends if they hear it too but they state they just hear the music. As I tread deeper into the club I begin to speak less. My friends call to me but I can't hear them and I become catatonic as I now begin to float through the room, my tiptoes dragging along the dance floor. Bodies thrust and shake as Bauhaus blares around me and lights flicker to the music. I seem to be moving towards a large chair atop a pillar of sinewy black vine. Around it are three sirens of different subculture calling to me. I rise in the air and am placed among them and as I do, I change. My irises become as dark as my pupils, the l.a. sun tan melts from my skin leaving me provocatively pale, and my funny aqua shirt, and neon shoes turn black. My friends look on in shock and as I seem to come out of it, I look on them, and grin. My perspective changed from my point of view to third person, but when I grin I do so right.at.me. Its at this point I wake up with a dry mouth and as I get a glass of water I think about my dream, and I LIKED it. &gt;=)The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-81017094987039145762011-07-15T00:24:00.000-07:002011-07-15T00:47:17.071-07:00Kat Von D is a racist, or at least one in secret.<p> Recently TLC has began running promos for the new season of LA Ink, the first season to include Kat Von D's new "soulmate" Jesse James. This got some of our more investigatory Action Rangers to thinking, and put together a piece that sadly proves something many of us didn't want to believe. Some of us, didn't want to believe because shes a female in charge and thus a kind of role model, others because they are also tattoo enthusiasts, and others simply because Kat Von D is super hot, and don't want to yank it to a nazi. Yes, that's right, a Nazi. Read on to see what has been deduced.<br /></p><p> Deductive reasoning dictates that a pattern is the strongest proof towards the truth. Now in 2008 Kat Von D was accused of giving the Jewish Ami James a head shot with a swastika and a burning Star of David and it read, "Burn in hell jewbag." She denies ever writing it, but Miami Ink artist Chris Garver stated that Kat Von D herself handed him the head shot to give to Ami. After Ami received it, he requested TLC investigate and they say they did and found no evidence she did it. The specifics of their "investigation" were never made public, but comparisons to other autographs of hers find enough similarities to determine she did indeed author the hate speech. So did TLC do an investigation, or did they just take her at her word because her new show was set to premiere just one month later, which means it would have already been sold to advertisers and pulling it would have meant sending back A LOT of checks. We may never know.<br /></p><p> Now time has passed and Kat's show thrived along with her popularity and the photo was all but forgotten, but THEN she begins dating one Jesse James. A man who has also been accused of being a secret nazi/white supremacist/etc. In 2010 a photo surfaced of Jesse James wearing a gestapo hat and giving the heil sign with one arm, while using his other hand to give himself a hitler mustache. He states it was a "joke", but to whom is the joke intended? What is the punchline? What part of any of it was meant to be funny?<br /></p><p> Within weeks of his photo scandal, Jesse James himself admitted to cheating on his wife, Sandra Bullock, with Michelle Mcgee. A self professed "alt model", she ALSO denies being a nazi of any sort, though DOES admit to believing that antisemitism, concluding she doesn't consider it the same thing nor that its even a form of bigotry. She has also taken photos in a gestapo hat AND a nazi armband, lists mein kamph as one of her favorite books, has WP tattooed on her legs, AND an iron eagle and swastika tattooed near her nether regions. If that's not enough, her ex-husband claimed that she is in-fact a white power supporter.</p><p> White supremacists hiding their affiliations isn't a new practice. Since the downfall of the third reich and the waning of the KKK, supporters found themselves more and more ostracized, so in order to spare themselves the scorn their beliefs produce, many would hide in plain site like cowards. The german government recently published a paper on over 140 new symbols nazi sympathizers are using to hide themselves in plain site. Sadly in America, more of these types can be found on some within the punk and rockabilly communities due to some of those styles and music being adopted by white power supporters. This is NOT to say the entirety of these communities shouldn't be trusted or are hiding anything, but it's like the old saying goes, "It's not that all priests are pedophiles, it's that pedophiles are becoming priests."</p><p> So is it easy to speculate that those in the public eye, with more to lose if their unfavorable beliefs were brought to light, would deny them and hide them in order to keep their status-quo? Yes, yes it is. People are capable of doing a lot more to protect a lot less. Is it mere coincidence that these three people, who all deny being nazi-lovers of any sort, have their lives intertwined and have so much evidence against them? Is it fair to use association as evidence against them all? Yes, yes it is. Association proves pattern, pattern establishes motive, and motive dictates truth. </p><p> SO in conclusion it can be positively stated that Yes, Kat Von D is more than likely a nazi sympathizer, white power supporter, and general ignorant sack of shit. Are her beliefs illegal? No. Are they awful and ignorant and just plain wrong in any sense of the word? Yes. Regardless, we may never get a full fledged confession because like all secret sympathizers, she doesn't want anyone to know it, for fear she would lose her fans, her show, her shop, her sponsorships, her endorsements, and all the money they produce.</p>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-1986399528270783942010-12-26T19:22:00.000-08:002011-02-23T21:44:38.760-08:00Fuck You DCAfter our sabbatical in an ashram in Dwarka, we returned at peace with the universe, ready to begin anew with less rage over the worlds ills. <span style="font-weight: bold;">ONLY TO HAVE DC PULL SOME BULLSHIT.</span><br /><br />As many know DC has two toys lines. One called "DC Direct" and one called "DC Universe". Why the two opposing lines? <span style="font-weight: bold;">To rip you the fuck off, tha</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">t's why!</span><br /><br />The Dc Universe line has garnered much acclaim in its 16 runs, with it's detail, obscure characters, and build-a-figures, BUT has been criticized for sometimes repeating some figures by DC Direct. So, what does DC do to quell this type of chatter? <span style="font-weight: bold;">Just run with it, copy an entire fucking line, and hope you're too stupid to r</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">ealize that you already bought it.</span><br /><br />Many a loyal customers have anxiously awaited Series 17. Hoping to see their favorite characters, curious to see which c-list heroes get a shot, and excited about the NEW build-a-figure. Well over this holiday weekend those hopes were dashed like a kid at Christmas who just got the same present as last year.<br /><br />Take a look.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RhOHa2l3Hyc/TWXrrsSUtwI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/ZFcyTimCEJA/s1600/15088_a_full.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RhOHa2l3Hyc/TWXrrsSUtwI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/ZFcyTimCEJA/s400/15088_a_full.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577122849423144706" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bls-V1j3tcM/TWXrr23hNFI/AAAAAAAAAnY/fNLmN8Kt_vE/s1600/MAT12582.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bls-V1j3tcM/TWXrr23hNFI/AAAAAAAAAnY/fNLmN8Kt_vE/s400/MAT12582.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577122852263507026" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DMd1jJUTSz4/TWXrreOAITI/AAAAAAAAAnA/nokIT2gxz4c/s1600/15090_a_full.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DMd1jJUTSz4/TWXrreOAITI/AAAAAAAAAnA/nokIT2gxz4c/s400/15090_a_full.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577122845646922034" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vBoZucLdFp8/TWXrrQhqN9I/AAAAAAAAAnI/77QzeunqkHw/s1600/MAT12588.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vBoZucLdFp8/TWXrrQhqN9I/AAAAAAAAAnI/77QzeunqkHw/s400/MAT12588.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577122841971275730" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dc36zJ6hClg/TWXq42JtlCI/AAAAAAAAAm4/BTHj0LV9830/s1600/15285_a_full.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dc36zJ6hClg/TWXq42JtlCI/AAAAAAAAAm4/BTHj0LV9830/s400/15285_a_full.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577121975898051618" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E9fVcxeRjjU/TWXq4iPAARI/AAAAAAAAAmw/yMICDWsBd3k/s1600/MAT12584.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E9fVcxeRjjU/TWXq4iPAARI/AAAAAAAAAmw/yMICDWsBd3k/s400/MAT12584.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577121970551521554" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rpLFaZqRTqM/TWXq4dkEK9I/AAAAAAAAAmo/XDmt_frHHYw/s1600/15287_a_full.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rpLFaZqRTqM/TWXq4dkEK9I/AAAAAAAAAmo/XDmt_frHHYw/s400/15287_a_full.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577121969297697746" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TNCHVeTc3LU/TWXq4csFANI/AAAAAAAAAmg/rCshj3iF3wU/s1600/MAT12583.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TNCHVeTc3LU/TWXq4csFANI/AAAAAAAAAmg/rCshj3iF3wU/s400/MAT12583.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577121969062871250" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/TRgLiGZSqHI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/ac1uHmbdcZQ/s1600/DC%2BDirect%2BBlackest%2BNight%2BOrange%2BLantern%2BLex%2BLuthor.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/TRgLiGZSqHI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/ac1uHmbdcZQ/s400/DC%2BDirect%2BBlackest%2BNight%2BOrange%2BLantern%2BLex%2BLuthor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555202820821657714" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/TRgLh3OlATI/AAAAAAAAAmI/PF8BPE4JRlo/s1600/dc%2Buniverse%2Blex%2Bluthor.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/TRgLh3OlATI/AAAAAAAAAmI/PF8BPE4JRlo/s400/dc%2Buniverse%2Blex%2Bluthor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555202816750190898" border="0" /></a><br />We admit it's hard to mess up Wonder Woman, but why does The Atom look like a tribal elder one minute, and then a 70s disco club dancer the next? Or Lex Luthor who smiles like hes possessed by the crystalline orange ring of avarice, only to then look like a jello mold with a dolls head stuck on top. Though, our "favorite" is Scarecrow, who goes from looking creepy and awesome to looking like he just got tazed. So yeah, thanks DC, for half-assing it all the way to the bank. Pricks.The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-24540387335208317142010-09-14T22:07:00.000-07:002010-09-14T22:26:49.547-07:00Parents demand government save them from their own kids<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Zevo-3 Skechers Cartoon: FCC Asked To Block New Series<br /></span></span><br /><br />NEW YORK — An advocacy group on Tuesday asked the Federal Communications Commission to block a soon-to-debut TV cartoon show starring characters first created to market Skechers footwear to children. <p>Unless banned, the group said, the show could pave the way for Ronald McDonald, Tony the Tiger and other iconic cartoon pitchmen to become stars of their own series – potentially inundating children's television with what amounted to full-length commercials. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">(were these group members Amish before and just NEVER saw a TV until they saw this cartoon commercial?)</span><br /></p> <p>The complaint was filed with the FCC by the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, targeting a series called "Zevo-3" that's scheduled to premiere Oct. 11 on the cable network Nicktoons. Its three teenage, super-powered heroes – tasked to save New Eden City from evil monsters – have previously appeared in comic books and TV ads promoting Skechers' line of children's shoes.</p> <p>The main characters "are walking and talking advertisements for specific lines of Skechers shoes," said the complaint. It depicted "Zevo-3" as "the first children's television program starring characters that are known to children only as commercial logos and spokescharacters."</p> <p>Specifically, the complaint said the half-hour show would violate a federal requirement in the Children's Television Act that that no cable TV operator shall air more than 12 minutes of commercial matter per hour during children's programming. The show also would violate the FCC's requirement of a clear separation between commercial content and programming matter, the complaint said.</p> <p>Kristen Van Cott, co-executive producer of "Zevo-3" and a senior vice president of Skechers Entertainment, said she and her colleagues had worked hard to ensure the show conforms with FCC provisions and were confident it would air on schedule.</p> <p>"Skechers Entertainment is tremendously proud of 'Zevo-3,'" she said in a statement. "It's a fun, action-packed and beautifully animated series."</p> <p>There are no overt pitches for Skechers' products in the cartoons, and Van Cott said the plot lines "often reflect issues that kids deal with on a daily basis – from peer pressure and bullying to relationships with family and friends."</p> <p>A spokesman for Nicktoons, David Bittler, responded concisely to the complaint: "This show does not violate the Children's Television Act."</p><p>Susan Linn, director of the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, said she did not know what timetable the FCC might set for considering the complaint.</p> <p>"It's our hope they'll act quickly and decisively," she said. "We believe that the show violates several of the few existing rules we have to protect children from over-commercialization." <span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">(more like protect parents from nagging kids. So lazy.)</span></p> <p>According to background in the complaint, there were plans back in the early 1990s for children's TV shows based on commercial spokescharacters – one that would have featured Chester Cheetah, who pitched Frito-Lay products, and another that would have starred Cheesasaurus Rex, a cheese-colored dinosaur who appeared in ads for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Plans for both shows were dropped after an advocacy coalition raised objections with the FCC. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">(WTF! I could have been watching a badass cheesasaurus rex cartoon! You Bastards!)</span><br /></p> <p>"Now Skechers and Nicktoons are attempting to escalate commercialization on children's television," the complaint said. "If they are successful, we can expect other companies to follow suit. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">(So. Deal with it. Its spelled N.O. Try it, unless you just GIVE your kids full access to your bank account?)</span><br /></p> <p>"A McDonald's show featuring Ronald McDonald, a Burger King show featuring the King, a Kellogg show featuring Tony the Tiger these are just some the possible children's television programs we may see in the future." <span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">(I used to have the Ronald Mcdonald cartoon halloween special on VHS and you know what? I STILL get excited when happy meal trick or treat buckets come out every year.)</span><br /></p> <p>The three heroes of "Zevo-3" – Z-Strap, Elastika and Kewl Breeze – were created by Skechers several year ago to promote sales of shoes to children, and each is linked to a particular shoe.</p> <p>"For children, these characters have become the embodiment of the shoe lines they represent," said the complaint. "So much so that retailers report that kids often ask for a shoe by character name rather than the shoe model." <span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">(Yes PLEASE U.S. Government, Its not enough to save them from junk food and uneducational cartoons, you must also save them from the SHOES!)</span><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;">Back in the olden days, cartoon characters used to hawk their advertisers products right on air. PLUS really popular characters got their OWN products. I used to eat super mario/zelda cereal. It was two cereals in one box separated right down the middle. It is bsolutely abhorrent when parents do this. They pull this defenseless, "woe is me" garbage, because if the government doesn't ban something, then OMG their kid might ASK for whatever that something is! Then what on earth will the parents do?! Hmmm how about SAY NO!” </p>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-84036040195862119582010-05-16T17:25:00.000-07:002010-05-16T18:00:50.619-07:00The VPAR Civil WarThis post has little to do with the news of the day but more so to do with the issues we face internally here due to what I consider to be a bane to the existence of humanity itself; Apple. Now I as current President of The V.P.A.R. used to work for the company and so every time they come out with a new product, I'm reminded of those days when we would spend countless hours trained on how we were the best and everything else was shit. That's the Apple model. If its not Apple, its not worth wiping your ass with. Pretty egotistical but that's how they like it. But I digress.<br /><br />Some of our Action Rangers are fervent Apple supporters, while others are vehement Apple detractors. This argument has raged since our group was founded and never more so has the argument gotten so heated as when the iPad debuted. Now as current president I have pulled rank and have posted in the past on how Apple, especially the iPad, suck.<br /><br />Despite the post, I choose not to get into arguments with fellow Action Rangers on the topic because as Ive told them, they treat Apple like a religion. When they ask to clarify I make this point, a point I have made ad nauseum, including just recently in relation to this story.<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">“Religion is simply defined as having a strong belief or faith in something that can not be proven. Faith is described as belief in something that normal reason would stand against. Apple cultists buy apple products when normal reason and fact tell them that there are better, less expensive, and less imposing products available. So it is absolutely right in stating that Apple super fans are religious.”</span> </blockquote>Despite this argument, my fellow VPAR, who are apple-ites, disagree. Well here for my own pleasure, thanks to the rank I hold, are some more bits of evidence that Apple-ites are infact, cultists. It's nothing big, nothing spectacular, just some back and forth on a news item about how Steve Jobs emailed Gawker writer Ryan Tate and the two got into it over the future of technology.<br /><br />Myself:<br /><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">“the iPad is just a gimmicky piece of junk that is nothing more than another way for you to buy stuff from itunes and the apps store. It doesn't have the functionality or power of a laptop, or the mobility of a 4G phone. It's literally in a class by itself because its a class that doesn't need to exist. There's a reason why similar tablets have been getting canceled left and right. The only thing it revolutionizes is a new way for you to be fooled into buying more stuff from Apple and deluded into thinking your on the cusp of technology. Piece. Of. Junk.”</blockquote><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Reply from cultist 1:<br /><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">“Name a book reader that comes close.”</blockquote><br /><br />My response:<br /><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">“Your argument is based on the idea that book readers are something wanted, akin to that of laptops and high end cell phones. They absolutely are not. Phone and laptop technology moves forward regardless. Book readers are a choice. One many people wouldn't ever want to make at all because there wasn't really anything wrong with the design of the book. Its not like millions of americans were dying under the weight of their vast libraries. Try again.”</blockquote><br /><br />Reply from cultist 2:<br /><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">“Gee...then don't buy one. But the people who have bought one don't really give a s.hite what you think.”</blockquote><br /><br />Ooooh, smarmy little fucker isn't he? My reply to Apple-ite 2:<br /><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">“Of course they don't care. Obviously anyone who buys one is either not smart enough to know they've been had, or are apple cultists who don't have the ability to see reason. My problem is with Steve Jobs and how his push forward is pointless, consumerist garbage. He is literally making technology, the future, and the world, worse. But your a fan his and his junk so like you said, you wont care because like I said, your not too smart and can't see reason.”</blockquote><br /><br /><br />Lets see what happens now when my fellow Rangers read this absolutely benign, self serving, inconsequential, nerdgasm of a post. In conclusion, I get it. Apple products are like childrens toys. Bright and shiny and sleek and futurist looking. They are designed that way. Designed to feed your base instincts for something "better", even if it only <span style="font-weight: bold;">LOOKS</span> better. If I had money to waste I might pick up a macbook, or a G5. But most people don't. In the end my point is this. To all of the die hard Apple cultists. It's a fucking handheld store. Get over it, and yourself, because it's not the future.<br /><br />We now return you to your regularly scheduled posts. Hazza!<br /></div>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-66740761335510786612010-05-10T03:30:00.001-07:002010-05-10T03:57:46.645-07:00Danny Shea is a lying petty douchebagMy time flies when you try and change the course of the world. Some of the things going on have been so overwhelming some of our members wonder, why bother? Even I succumbed to this feeling of dread. Between the inaction by our government, Obama being middle to right on most of this policies, including supporting offshore drilling before AND after the BP spill, and Net neutrality taking a gut punch. It's been a tough road. But then something, snapped. Something made us realize that letting it weigh on us is lame, as we many Action Rangers gather for the very reason of not just taking it, but rather of standing united and saying, "Oh thats how you SAY its going to be? Well fuck you too!" Our voices will be heard and we start again today! Our linchpin was a fucker over at Huffpo named Danny Shea. Now so incredulous and bullshit ridden were Danny's comments that we just couldn't take it anymore. It literally was the last pile of crap we were willing to shovel our way through. We wrote a letter to the editor so to speak and we will place it here for you now. First though, some backstory. Danny "Im a Lying Asshole" Shea posting a "winners of the week" section on the Media Tab of huffpo he edits in which he wrote this about Conan O Brien,
<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><strong></strong><blockquote style="color: rgb(102, 255, 255);"><strong>Conan O'Brien</strong>
<br />Finally able to make his case, Conan <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/29/conan-on-60-minutes-i-wou_n_557590.html" target="_hplink">broke his silence on "60 Minutes"</a> — and delivered ratings to boot. And he effectively got his message across: he's a good Catholic boy who would never have done that to Leno.</blockquote>
<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Can you sense the tone Danny Shea is setting? Oh but it didn't end there. Danny Shea also thought it prudent to get some help from a fellow misanthropic tool named Daniel Frankel who posted some information on the ratings concerning Conans 60 Minutes interview.
<br /></div>
<br /><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);"><p style="text-align: left;">Conan O’Brien’s post-“Tonight Show” whine on “60 Minutes” helped spark CBS to a win in total viewers Sunday night, but it was the buoyancy of “Desperate Housewives” that gave ABC the victory in the all-important adults 18-49 demo.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Here’s a look at the ratings highlights:</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>‘HEARTBROKEN’… BUT WITH $32 MILLION:</b> O’Brien’s exclusive interview bumped “60 Minutes” 38 percent week to week to a 2.2 rating/8 share in adults 18-49 and 13 million viewers. That was still 12 percent below “60 Minutes’” season average, however.</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">Notice it being called a whine, and the headline making a point to note that I guess its impossible to be heartbroken when you have money? Obviously Shea doesn't like Conan but this next bit of fake bullshit takes the cake. Somehow Conan also makes the "Losers of the Week" and with literally NO facts behind it other than what Danny Shea pulled out of his ass. Read on.
<br /></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">"Yes, he <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/29/conan-on-60-minutes-i-wou_n_557590.html" target="_hplink">made his case on "60 Minutes"</a> — but it may have backfired. The more time he spends complaining about how Big Bad Leno stole the "Tonight Show" from him, the less America remembers why they loved him on it...and the less they look forward to his launch this fall on TBS. Plus, NBC made a splash by saying that <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2010/05/03/conan-obrien-nbc-jay-leno-severance-deal-nbc-60-minutes/" target="_hplink">he lied during the "60 Minutes" interview</a>."</blockquote>This was the <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Are you fucking kidding me?!"</span> moment here at VPAR headquarters. Which prompted this letter to Danny Shea and Huffpo on his job performance, to say the least.
<br /></div></div>
<br />
<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204); font-weight: bold;">Why are you so impossibly bad at your simple job of editing a web page? I am seriously asking you that. On what basis do you think that Conan's one interview may have backfired? What poll numbers do you have that show people won't look forward to his TBS debut because of his ONE interview? How can people possibly be tired of hearing him talk about it after one interview to begin with? Who told you America loves him less, the more he gives insight on one of the biggest entertainment stories of the year? You literally have to be making this up as you go along and I'm asking at what point did you decide that being a huffpo editor meant you didn't have to do your job well.
<br />
<br />What proof do you have, as a supposed journalist, that it wasn't NBC lying to save face and not Conan who was? Also, why the mean spirited dig at Conan's religion? What is it you have against Conan anyway? Because of how much money he made? Are all you "media" writers so jaded that the concept of someone in show business standing up for something more important than themselves is lost on you? Does it make you uncomfortable that someone isn't as petty as you, so you have to tear them down?
<br />
<br />What I love is how you completely ignore Jay's role in all this. Jay wouldn't have stood by and let NBC try to bump the Tonight Show when he wasn't doing well. For a year Letterman beat Leno when he debuted The Late Show, and NBC never once tried to bring Johnny back for a half hour. Even if NBC did, Johnny wouldn't have taken it, because he wasn't the type to cut off a guys knees like that. Conan made the mistake in believing that the previous Tonight Show host would stand with him in not letting the Tonight Show be shuffled around like some mid-season sitcom. Leno took it without any regard, and then played it off like nothing is his fault. Like I said, I love how you seem to ignore all of this.
<br />
<br />As far as the late night mess, what happened happened. Nothing can change it now. But when I go to a trusted news site I want news, not your made up speculation garbage, so I ask again, what about Conan makes you want to purposefully be bad at your job? Huffpo is moving quickly into being the number one online news source and if you can't act like a professional then why be there?</blockquote>We hope this finds Danny well and that the next time he decides to make up garbage for the sake of his own pathetic ego, he'll remember hes a journalist and should act accordingly. Until next time, we remain your guide to all things awesome and the light on all things full of crap. <3
<br />The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-12878547002231900842010-04-26T03:20:00.000-07:002010-04-26T03:33:43.976-07:00Beauty like nothing on earthThe VPAR has been on vacation as of late, and while traversing space and time we came across this. The Hubble Telescope decided to celebrate its own 20th Birthday with a photo of what is now called the Carina Nebula.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S9VqDoBhn8I/AAAAAAAAAl0/Qchj_Vgwk0Q/s1600/CARINA-NEBULA-PHOTO.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 368px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S9VqDoBhn8I/AAAAAAAAAl0/Qchj_Vgwk0Q/s400/CARINA-NEBULA-PHOTO.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464390333399932866" border="0" /></a><br />Our shock comes from the fact that something so gorgeous can exist. We asked each other could it really be real? As its vivid colors look like something a digital artist would whip up with CS4, but no dear Rangers, this is absolutely genuine.<br /><br />So Whats a Nebula you ask? Well its basically the name for a cloud in space made up of dust, different gases and plasma. What makes nebulas special is that they are the birthplace of stars. They can be so because they are huge, and the Carina Nebula is <span style="font-weight: bold;">3 LIGHT YEARS TALL. </span>Expect this gorgeous dream of color and creation to effectively retire the Eagle Nebula from the many posters, t-shirts and geek tailored products it adorned.The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-54672055056151897402010-04-14T02:17:00.000-07:002010-04-14T02:41:45.732-07:00I dreamed a dreamWe have long been fans of the artists Faile and Bast both together and on their own and now they have teamed up again to make our dreams come true like none could ever have imagined. What is it that has the entire VPAR complex in an uproar of excitement? Take a look.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WLfwYcSoI/AAAAAAAAAlE/Lvv92dw5PLs/s1600/dfa5.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WLfwYcSoI/AAAAAAAAAlE/Lvv92dw5PLs/s400/dfa5.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459923500936219266" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WL3QMCUDI/AAAAAAAAAls/Wos3CsH9ldk/s1600/dfa.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WL3QMCUDI/AAAAAAAAAls/Wos3CsH9ldk/s400/dfa.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459923904611110962" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WL3EUh3-I/AAAAAAAAAlk/wy38ALynlac/s1600/dfa1.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 297px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WL3EUh3-I/AAAAAAAAAlk/wy38ALynlac/s400/dfa1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459923901425508322" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WLhLaA2zI/AAAAAAAAAlc/6CH_q5e9WtQ/s1600/dfa2.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WLhLaA2zI/AAAAAAAAAlc/6CH_q5e9WtQ/s400/dfa2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459923525370436402" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WLgvSRghI/AAAAAAAAAlU/daXVMOwLIdE/s1600/dfa3.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WLgvSRghI/AAAAAAAAAlU/daXVMOwLIdE/s400/dfa3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459923517821780498" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WLgWlsO4I/AAAAAAAAAlM/6_DbAkS36RY/s1600/dfa4.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WLgWlsO4I/AAAAAAAAAlM/6_DbAkS36RY/s400/dfa4.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459923511192337282" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WLfsaXeyI/AAAAAAAAAk8/OonFffW53BM/s1600/dfa6.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WLfsaXeyI/AAAAAAAAAk8/OonFffW53BM/s400/dfa6.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459923499870550818" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKtlF6_bI/AAAAAAAAAk0/HCfQys_sx-k/s1600/dfa7.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKtlF6_bI/AAAAAAAAAk0/HCfQys_sx-k/s400/dfa7.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459922638912290226" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKtOlwKxI/AAAAAAAAAks/CRmZJGreM78/s1600/dba8.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKtOlwKxI/AAAAAAAAAks/CRmZJGreM78/s400/dba8.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459922632871783186" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKsw29pBI/AAAAAAAAAkk/pStm75Q1_kw/s1600/dba9.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKsw29pBI/AAAAAAAAAkk/pStm75Q1_kw/s400/dba9.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459922624890905618" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKsmRVHlI/AAAAAAAAAkc/2LIwQadzk2E/s1600/dba10.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKsmRVHlI/AAAAAAAAAkc/2LIwQadzk2E/s400/dba10.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459922622048706130" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKsOWfKkI/AAAAAAAAAkU/smm-7tGisXc/s1600/dba11.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKsOWfKkI/AAAAAAAAAkU/smm-7tGisXc/s400/dba11.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459922615627885122" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKZ7xK1ZI/AAAAAAAAAkM/7Bb-W2yF53Y/s1600/dba12.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKZ7xK1ZI/AAAAAAAAAkM/7Bb-W2yF53Y/s400/dba12.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459922301401879954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKY0uQLNI/AAAAAAAAAkE/QPnYdmkFlo4/s1600/dba13.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKY0uQLNI/AAAAAAAAAkE/QPnYdmkFlo4/s400/dba13.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459922282330729682" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKYBiWbuI/AAAAAAAAAj8/hW8odZ7Xw_E/s1600/dba14.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKYBiWbuI/AAAAAAAAAj8/hW8odZ7Xw_E/s400/dba14.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459922268590599906" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKXqUqkKI/AAAAAAAAAj0/dkT8FE-nIrE/s1600/dba15.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKXqUqkKI/AAAAAAAAAj0/dkT8FE-nIrE/s400/dba15.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459922262359183522" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKW0BuTjI/AAAAAAAAAjs/7MyGxBUTGOs/s1600/dba16.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WKW0BuTjI/AAAAAAAAAjs/7MyGxBUTGOs/s400/dba16.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459922247784222258" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJ7GwGySI/AAAAAAAAAjk/N0pzlWluhJs/s1600/dba17.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJ7GwGySI/AAAAAAAAAjk/N0pzlWluhJs/s400/dba17.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459921771774265634" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJ6ra_CHI/AAAAAAAAAjc/8VdyAm3dk6k/s1600/dba18.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJ6ra_CHI/AAAAAAAAAjc/8VdyAm3dk6k/s400/dba18.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459921764437919858" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJ6eaDC3I/AAAAAAAAAjU/MsgZ4dwlo_g/s1600/dba19.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJ6eaDC3I/AAAAAAAAAjU/MsgZ4dwlo_g/s400/dba19.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459921760944327538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJ59kbTSI/AAAAAAAAAjM/4T_uTUGm2vI/s1600/dba20.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJ59kbTSI/AAAAAAAAAjM/4T_uTUGm2vI/s400/dba20.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459921752129490210" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJ5b1oyEI/AAAAAAAAAjE/Zb0B3Lrx8X0/s1600/dba21.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJ5b1oyEI/AAAAAAAAAjE/Zb0B3Lrx8X0/s400/dba21.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459921743074871362" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJo6wtbGI/AAAAAAAAAi8/7Rcb5on7yic/s1600/dba22.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJo6wtbGI/AAAAAAAAAi8/7Rcb5on7yic/s400/dba22.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459921459317927010" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJofee1TI/AAAAAAAAAi0/Xg_uVmGs1jw/s1600/dba23.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJofee1TI/AAAAAAAAAi0/Xg_uVmGs1jw/s400/dba23.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459921451993716018" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJnr4V8bI/AAAAAAAAAis/FELwNQSfmos/s1600/dba24.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJnr4V8bI/AAAAAAAAAis/FELwNQSfmos/s400/dba24.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459921438143541682" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJnKzmZoI/AAAAAAAAAik/UqsKv3f8MOs/s1600/dba25.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJnKzmZoI/AAAAAAAAAik/UqsKv3f8MOs/s400/dba25.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459921429265278594" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJm5l-xfI/AAAAAAAAAic/Tv1YbPCI_JA/s1600/dba26.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 156px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S8WJm5l-xfI/AAAAAAAAAic/Tv1YbPCI_JA/s400/dba26.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459921424644752882" border="0" /></a><br />Yes those glorious bastards built an arcade with function cabinets that play specially made mini-games. GOD EXISTS SAY I! *whew* Sadly the piece has ended its run but expect it to show up elsewhere as the games weren't just destroyed by any means. Check out the <a href="http://deluxxfluxx.com/">website dedicated to the show</a> and wish it travels to other galleries. We will that's for fucking sure.<br /><br /><object id="bbg_player" width="370" height="220" data="http://www.babelgum.com/embed/4024134" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.babelgum.com/embed/4024134"> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"> </object>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-27317828999388083722010-04-08T03:18:00.000-07:002010-04-08T03:58:49.671-07:00These are the dark times<span style="font-weight: bold;">No sooner do we post bail for punching the judge in the isohunt case in the nuts, than an appellate court decides he wants to know the feeling of fucking the entirety of modern society. But the judge alone can't be blamed for this, no he can't indeed. For he is but a pawn working towards the vile machinations of one empire who since they oozed their way from the depths of hell, have been our arch nemesis. I call the out into the light Demon! Back to the bowels of Hell with you and take thine greed and shitty broadband speeds with thee! Cursed be the day when satans poison tongue first spoke the name, COMCAST!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Since John Adams first created our noble order to ensure the well being of all things kickass and awesome, prophecies were foretold of a dark beast that will test not just our league of Action Rangers, but humanity as a whole. It seems now those warnings have bore fruit. The future is grim my fellow rangers. Isohunt has gone lite, Mininova is a husk of its former self, Piratebay nears its last days and Demonoid is in the crosshairs. Now not only are the tools we use on deaths bed but the whole of internet existence hangs in the balance. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">At this rate internet service in this country will operate like cable television. You pay for website packs. The more you pay, the faster CERTAIN websites will go, and the websites that don't pay comcasts strongarm fee's to be included in said packs, will see loading times slow to a crawl. It's a sick, sick dystopia we march towards and something must be done. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Below is the news piece in full, and below that are links to save the internet.com and how YOU can help yourself in making sure you don't get royally screwed. Europe and Asia are laughing at us with broadband speeds 30 to 50 times faster AND cheaper too. Lets agree were all tired of being fucked with by private corporations who literally just want to rape us of as much money as they can for as little service as possible.</span><br /><br /><p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">WASHINGTON — A federal court threw the future of Internet regulations into doubt Tuesday with a far-reaching decision that went against the Federal Communications Commission and could even hamper the government's plans to expand broadband access in the United States.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC lacks authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks. That was a big victory for Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable company, which had challenged the FCC's authority to impose such "network neutrality" obligations on broadband providers.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Supporters of network neutrality, including the FCC chairman, have argued that the policy is necessary to prevent broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against certain Web sites and online services, such as Internet phone programs or software that runs in a Web browser. Advocates contend there is precedent: Nondiscrimination rules have traditionally applied to so-called "common carrier" networks that serve the public, from roads and highways to electrical grids and telephone lines.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">But broadband providers such as Comcast, AT&amp;T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. argue that after spending billions of dollars on their networks, they should be able to sell premium services and manage their systems to prevent certain applications from hogging capacity.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Tuesday's unanimous ruling by the three-judge panel was a setback for the FCC because it questioned the agency's authority to regulate broadband. That could cause problems beyond the FCC's effort to adopt official net neutrality regulations. It also has serious implications for the ambitious national broadband-expansion plan released by the FCC last month. The FCC needs the authority to regulate broadband so that it can push ahead with some of the plan's key recommendations. Among other things, the FCC proposes to expand broadband by tapping the federal fund that subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural communities.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">In a statement, the FCC said it remains "firmly committed to promoting an open Internet and to policies that will bring the enormous benefits of broadband to all Americans" and "will rest these policies ... on a solid legal foundation."</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Comcast welcomed the decision, saying "our primary goal was always to clear our name and reputation."</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The case centers on Comcast's actions in 2007 when it interfered with an online file-sharing service called BitTorrent, which lets people swap movies and other big files over the Internet. The next year the FCC banned Comcast from blocking subscribers from using BitTorrent. The commission, at the time headed by Republican Kevin Martin, based its order on a set of net neutrality principles it had adopted in 2005.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">But Comcast argued that the FCC order was illegal because the agency was seeking to enforce mere policy principles, which don't have the force of regulations or law. That's one reason that Martin's successor, Democratic FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, is trying to formalize those rules.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The cable company had also argued the FCC lacks authority to mandate net neutrality because it had deregulated broadband under the Bush administration, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in 2005.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The FCC now defines broadband as a lightly regulated information service. That means it is not subject to the "common carrier" obligations that make traditional telecommunications services share their networks with competitors and treat all traffic equally. But the FCC maintains that existing law gives it authority to set rules for information services.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Tuesday's court decision rejected that reasoning, concluding that Congress has not given the FCC "untrammeled freedom" to regulate without explicit legal authority.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">With so much at stake, the FCC now has several options. It could ask Congress to give it explicit authority to regulate broadband. Or it could appeal Tuesday's decision.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">But both of those steps could take too long because the agency "has too many important things they have to do right away," said Ben Scott, policy director for the public interest group Free Press. Free Press was among the groups that alerted the FCC after The Associated Press ran tests and reported that Comcast was interfering with attempts by some subscribers to share files online.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">Scott believes that the likeliest step by the FCC is that it will simply reclassify broadband as a more heavily regulated telecommunications service. That, ironically, could be the worst-case outcome from the perspective of the phone and cable companies.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">"Comcast swung an ax at the FCC to protest the BitTorrent order," Scott said. "And they sliced right through the FCC's arm and plunged the ax into their own back."</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The battle over the FCC's legal jurisdiction comes amid a larger policy dispute over the merits of net neutrality. Backed by Internet companies such as Google Inc. and the online calling service Skype, the FCC says rules are needed to prevent phone and cable companies from prioritizing some traffic or degrading or services that compete with their core businesses. Indeed, BitTorrent can be used to transfer large files such as online video, which could threaten Comcast's cable TV business.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">But broadband providers point to the fact that applications such as BitTorrent use an outsized amount of network capacity.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">For its part, the FCC offered no details on its next step, but stressed that it remains committed to the principle of net neutrality.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">"Today's court decision invalidated the prior commission's approach to preserving an open Internet," the agency's statement said. "But the court in no way disagreed with the importance of preserving a free and open Internet; nor did it close the door to other methods for achieving this important end."</p><p><br /></p><a href="http://www.savetheinternet.com/">http://www.savetheinternet.com/</a>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-47839573082960773912010-03-25T04:04:00.000-07:002010-03-25T04:40:50.620-07:00great now we gotta defend home wreckers. THANKS regular press.Yknow we VPAR try to be as fair as possible and believe that truth stands above all things. So when we see national "news" outlets all run the same bogus story over and over, we get just a little pissed. <span style="font-weight: bold;">YES</span> Michelle Bombshell is a homewrecker and kind of sleazy for sleeping with a married man, but she is not a Nazi. How are we so sure of this?<br />Our crack team of investigative journalists tracked down some information that proves this very statement. It just so happens one of our members is friends with a model who took a similar picture with the same photographer. So when the story broke and everyone flipped the fucked out, especially being that its like, a 2 year old photo. and THEN no one bothered to correct the callous charges because apparently, Jesse James cheating with a Nazi is a "better" headline than if he just cheated with a tatted up alt model. Well you can say that member got pissed, because when truth is stamped out for the sake of headlines, <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">we are all fucked.</span></span><br /><br />The photographer whose idea was the Nazi pinups was Robert Alvarado and knowing his photos might cause a stir when he took them YEARS ago, he made this statement:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"This is not an apology, it is a preface. </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Please note that I do not seek to glorify war or the actions of the political leaders of the Third Reich. War is a terrible loss for both friend and foe as many survivors will attest. </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Growing up right after WWII, I was drawn to the imagery of Third Reich. The images they used, Iron Cross, Swastika and colors made them appealing to me in a graphic way. Sooooo... one of my projects was to see what I could do with those images and colors in a pin-up way. I have talked to a few friends (Jewish also) and everyone has encouraged me in this project. All I really wanted to do was to incorporate those images into my pinup art and see what happened. What am I trying to say... Just what it would be as if the Nazi's did Pin-Up, and sometimes more. And please... I am not a racist. Pushing it a little... yes, hopefully not too much. This is about Art. I mean no harm to anyone. </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">I also realize that some of you are unable to get past the swastika and what it represented. I would just ask that you please try and view this in an artistic way </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Again... this is about Art. </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Robert Alvarado"</span><br /><br />Here are some of Mr. Alvarado's pics in question.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S6tHqV3SzwI/AAAAAAAAAiM/DYAoXthCdNI/s1600/l_023a44a91a6440c0a0b514c831fbac6e.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S6tHqV3SzwI/AAAAAAAAAiM/DYAoXthCdNI/s400/l_023a44a91a6440c0a0b514c831fbac6e.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452530566611259138" border="0" /></a><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S6tHp408yWI/AAAAAAAAAiE/wKaGma_JeWo/s1600/4972de98d545a.jpg"><br /></a><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S6tHpT0uhKI/AAAAAAAAAh8/CIrUW7BnMw0/s1600/49bbefce0512f.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 323px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S6tHpT0uhKI/AAAAAAAAAh8/CIrUW7BnMw0/s400/49bbefce0512f.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452530548883752098" border="0" /></a><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S6tHpMwJ2wI/AAAAAAAAAh0/QQm6HeXIOQ4/s1600/493dffa22f412.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 322px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S6tHpMwJ2wI/AAAAAAAAAh0/QQm6HeXIOQ4/s400/493dffa22f412.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452530546985523970" border="0" /></a><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S6tHou6skgI/AAAAAAAAAhs/J1EHoYL2N8g/s1600/48dd89653d249.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S6tHou6skgI/AAAAAAAAAhs/J1EHoYL2N8g/s400/48dd89653d249.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452530538976678402" border="0" /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S6tJE4ZYm_I/AAAAAAAAAiU/gM4lPodIH2U/s1600/4972de98d5.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 322px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S6tJE4ZYm_I/AAAAAAAAAiU/gM4lPodIH2U/s400/4972de98d5.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452532122069277682" border="0" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></span>So are all these models Nazis<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span> too???<br /><br />I wonder if any actual nazis got mad at Alvarado for the picture of the nazi girl being taken hostage by the other girl, becauuuuse it could represent them as not being powerful? Beholden to their enemies in WW2? Supporters of lesbianism? OH! or maybe it doesn't mean SHIT.<br /><br />Since the bogus accusations broke, Mr. Alvarado has stayed quiet on the subject, no doubt because <span style="font-weight: bold;">A)</span> he doesn't want any flack and <span style="font-weight: bold;">B) </span>Michelle Bombshell tried to throw him under the bus already in an attempt to save face. Though a stupid decision, who can blame her? Everyone is calling her a <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">NAZI</span>.<br /><br />In closing we are not going to argue whether or not the WP on her legs means white power or wet pussy because we CAN'T verify that, and we aren't going to discuss her facebook as once saying she liked mein kamph as we'd be surprised if she read AT ALL and that given her book list, she's very much about the extreme "image" of a tattoo model. Our point here today was about the photos used to pigeon-hole <span style="font-weight: bold;">our perception</span> for no other reason than greedy info-tainment. So remember that before you vilify a person, first pay attention to if what they are being vilified for is actually true because a mob mentality is a sad and stupid thing. Just ask the tea-baggers.The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-77617101554465279802010-03-15T23:22:00.000-07:002010-03-15T23:47:54.287-07:00Relevancy does not equal ice cream cones<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Its nice to see these pervs passing as artists brought to task. Especially Richardson. The article below forgets to mention another such skeez </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Merlin Bronques. For a long time they both have been indie-darlings and for no other reason than they wore old clothes and convinced young girls that not only does that make them cool, but that fashion apparently starts with no clothes at all. Lets make one thing clear. Shooting in black and white, simple nudes, or with a polaroid camera doesn't make you a photographer. It makes you lazy. And constantly taking photos of girls nude for a "point" you've made 100 times over, DOESN'T make you cutting edge, it makes you a pervert. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">There is nudity in photography. Fashion is about whats new and provocative and both done well can inspire you and take your breath away. But then sleazy a-holes like Richardson, Bronques, and Charney use that as a line to get your shirt on the floor. So though they deserve to be called out, The VPAR asks please don't use this as a railroad against truly inspired fashion photography. Instead remember pervs in fashion is much like what Catholics said about pedos. "The problem isn't that all priests are pedophiles, its that pedophiles are becoming priests." </span><br /><h1>Skeezy Guy Syndrome: Where Porn Meets Fashion</h1> <p>Early on Friday, Page Six <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/model_snaps_at_fashion_fotog_P489aSOevwAo35ikoKsRKI">reported</a> that photographer <strong>Terry Richardson</strong> found himself at the wrong end of a tongue-lashing from supermodel <strong>Ria Rasmussen</strong> at a March 8 fashion event in Paris.</p> <p>Rasmussen, upset that she’d been featured in Richardson’s 2004 book “Terryworld” alongside young-looking (and just plain young) women depicted in compromising and sexually implicit positions, told the photographer she found his work “utterly degrading.”</p> <p>“I told him what you do is completely degrading to women,” she recounted to Page Six. “[I said] I hope you know you only [bleep] girls because you have a camera, lots of fashion contacts and get your pictures in Vogue.”</p> <p>As far as I’m concerned, Rasmussen is not wrong. Richardson is part of a particularly insulting subset of the fashion industry — a group I like to call: The Skeezy Guy. In an industry known, if not <em>quite</em> lambasted for its overuse of underage girls, The Skeezy Guy is an unfortunately prevalent phenomenon. Generically identified as middle-aged modelling agents who take advantage of impressionable and barely-teenaged girls who are often countries away from home, The Skeezy Guy actually comes in many different forms — one perfect example of which is Terry Richardson.</p> <p>Richardson is known for his over-saturated, Polaroid-esque and often very provocative images featuring beautiful young things in varying states of undress. (Sometimes props are involved; Richardson seems to have a <a href="http://www.herfamedgoodlooks.com/hfgl/Natasha%20Poly/editorials/images/natasha_poly-ph.terry_richardson-vogueFR-dec2004-jan2005-peche_de_cher-1.jpg">particular fondness</a> for <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/photos/gallery/26764459/gossip_girl_the_steamy_rolling/photo/2">ice cream cones</a>. Also: <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/fashion/jeans-brand-pays-200000-to-hire-badboy-photographer/2006/07/14/1152637872131.html">bukkake</a>.)</p> <p>While provocation certainly falls under fashion’s purview, provocation with no purpose — or, worse yet, at the expense of dignity — is just cheap and often offensive.</p> <p>Richardson’s styling as well as his choice of subject, which Rasmussen describes as “girls who appear underage, abused, look like heroin addicts,” are becoming more and more ubiquitous. The most obvious doppelganger is, of course, American Apparel, whose founder <strong>Dov Charney</strong> just so happens to bear an eerie resemblance to Richardson.<br /><br /><br /></p><div id="attachment_875" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 410px;"><a href="http://www.styleite.com/media/skeezy-guy-syndrome-where-porn-and-fashion-intersect/attachment/0-terrydov/" rel="attachment wp-att-875"><img src="http://www.styleite.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/0-terrydov.jpg" alt="" title="0-terrydov" class="size-full wp-image-875" width="400" height="250" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">This thing looks like that thing: Terry Richardson and Dov Charney</p></div> <p>American Apparel’s in-house advertising team (art-directed, naturally, by Charney) equally blurs the line between pornography and fashion photography — so much so that a recent ad was <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/sep/02/asa-american-apparel-ad">banned in Britain</a> for “sexualizing a child.” The “child” was, in fact, a 23-year-old model, but it was no accident that she looked younger than 16. </p> <p>Charney, who at one point faced <a href="http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article4165459.ece">more than five sexual harrassment lawsuits</a> in a three-year period, often argues that he’s empowering women and celebrating their sexuality. (“Some of us love sluts,” he once claimed during a legal deposition.) Richardson does the same. And these two are not alone. Joining them in my personal Skeevy Guy Hall of Fame is <i>Purple</i> magazine editor <strong>Olivier Zahm</strong>. </p> <p>Zahm, who also runs the mag’s blog <a href="http://www.purple-diary.com/">Purple Diary</a>, often features decidedly<a href="http://www.purple-diary.com/post/441990829/camille-bidault-waddington-with-her-new-cadolle"> NSFW images of women flashing their chests</a> or <a href="http://www.purple-diary.com/post/441398050/sophie-willing-in-the-new-office-for-design-work">rolling around an office space</a> on the site. As for why, Zahm recently <a href="http://www.style.com/stylefile/2010/03/the-future-of-fashion-part-four-olivier-zahm/">explained</a> the inspiration for Purple Diary to Style.com:</p> <blockquote><p>To me love and sex is the most beautiful thing on earth, you know. It’s more beautiful than a landscape, so I love to keep pictures of the girls in these private moments because they are giving you the most beautiful side of themselves. It’s like a gift from God. It’s beautiful. I’m not New Age, I’m not mystical, I just really love it, and it’s so beautiful to capture with a camera that I really want to share that, you know…And also, Purple is a lifestyle. With my magazine, what I want to do is personally to be more free, and I want people to be more free, to open their possibility of contact, of sex, of love. I want that. This is important to me. I consider that Purple is a free lifestyle. Not in a stupid way, not in a childish or immature way, in a mature way now because I’m 45, 46. So the blog is also this vocation to see what constructs a lifestyle, to see what could be. If my life would be perfect, it would look like the Purple Diary.</p></blockquote> <p>While it’s wonderful that these men are so madly in love with women, I just can’t help but wish they’d want to celebrate more than just the female <em>form</em> — or, barring that, celebrate it in a less degrading way. </p> <p>Unfortunately, one of the key attributes of The Skeezy Guy seems to be cowardice. When confronted by Rasmussen’s ire, Richardson chose to just run away. The next day, Rasmussen’s agency received phone calls from the spurned photographer claiming he’d been slandered in front of his “clients.” As Rasmussen put it, “It was the most cowardly thing I have ever seen.”</p> <p>But the fault (and cowardice) doesn’t only lie with these men; until the rest of the industry realizes that blow jobs, though perhaps effective, aren’t necessarily<a href="http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl1/1/13254/18_2008/belvedere.jpg"> the best way to sell products</a>, men like Richardson, Charney, and Zahm will always have a home in fashion. </p>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-32586654588939490822010-03-10T02:25:00.000-08:002010-03-10T02:33:41.814-08:00WoW is a drug? wow...18 days since the last post?! Unforgivable. This will be rectified immediately. As we speak Action Rangers responsible are being discharged, their badges taken, their jetpacks confiscated, and their 20% discount at Chipotle revoked. Our apologies. Now back to work.<br /><br />An article ran recently about how video game developers are no longer striving towards making the best game possible, but making the most addictive game possible. It can come off as almost blasphemous in our circles, but it WILL make you uncomfortable.<br /><br /><h1>5 Creepy Ways Video Games Are Trying to Get You Addicted</h1><br /><p>So, <a target="a" href="http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/couple-starves-real-child-while-raising-virtual-one/1392152">the headlines say somebody else has died due to video game addiction</a>. Yes, it's Korea again.</p> <p>What the hell? Look, I'm not saying video games are heroin. I totally get that the victims had other shit going on in their lives. <em>But</em>, half of you reading this know a <em>World of Warcraft</em> addict and <a target="a" href="http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/081111_gaming.htm">experts say video game addiction is a thing</a>. So here's the big question: Are some games intentionally designed to keep you compulsively playing, even when you're not enjoying it?</p> <p>Oh, <em>hell</em> yes. And their methods are downright creepy.</p> <div id="Title_box"> <div class="Title">#5.</div> <div class="Title2" style="margin-left: 35px;">Putting You in a Skinner Box</div> </div> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/3/6/19836.jpg?v=1" /></p> <p>If you've ever been addicted to a game or known someone who was, <a target="a" href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3085/behavioral_game_design.php?page=1">this article is really freaking disturbing</a>. It's written by <a target="a" href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/authors/54/John_Hopson.php">a games researcher at Microsoft</a> on how to make video games that hook players, whether they like it or not. He has a doctorate in behavioral and brain sciences. Quote:</p> <p><em>"Each contingency is an arrangement of time, activity, and reward, and there are an infinite number of ways these elements can be combined to produce the pattern of activity you want from your players."</em></p> <p>Notice his article does not contain the words "fun" or "enjoyment." That's not his field. Instead it's "the pattern of activity you want."</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/3/7/19837.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">"...at this point, younger gamers will raise their arms above their head, leaving them vulnerable."</span></p> <p>His theories are based around the work of BF Skinner, who discovered you could control behavior by training subjects with simple stimulus and reward. He invented the "Skinner Box," a cage containing a small animal that, for instance, presses a lever to get food pellets. Now, I'm not saying this guy at Microsoft sees gamers as a bunch of rats in a Skinner box. I'm just saying that he illustrates his theory of game design using pictures of rats in a Skinner box.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/3/8/19838.jpg?v=1" /></p> <p>This sort of thing caused games researcher Nick Yee <a target="a" href="http://www.nickyee.com/eqt/skinner.html">to once call <em>Everquest</em> a "Virtual Skinner Box."</a></p> <p><span class="Title">So What's The Problem?</span></p> <p>Gaming has changed. It used to be that once they sold us a $50 game, they didn't particularly care how long we played. The big thing was making sure we liked it enough to buy the next one. But the industry is moving toward subscription-based games like MMO's that need the subject to keep playing--and paying--until the sun goes supernova.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/3/9/19839.jpg?v=1" /></p> <p>Now, there's no way they can create enough exploration or story to keep you playing for thousands of hours, so <a target="a" href="http://serialganker.blogspot.com/2008/09/ethics-of-mmo-addiction.html">they had to change the mechanics of the game</a>, so players would instead keep doing the same actions over and over and over, whether they liked it or not. So game developers turned to Skinner's techniques.</p> <p>This is a big source of controversy in the world of game design right now. <em>Braid</em> creator Jonathan Blow said Skinnerian game mechanics <a target="a" href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/articles/ethical-dilemmas/2007/09/19/1189881577195.html">are a form of "exploitation."</a> It's not that these games can't be fun. But they're designed to keep gamers subscribing during the periods when it's <em>not</em> fun, locking them into a repetitive slog using Skinner's manipulative system of carefully scheduled rewards.</p> <p>Why would this work, when the "rewards" are just digital objects that don't actually exist? Well...</p> <div id="Title_box"> <div class="Title">#4.</div> <div class="Title2" style="margin-left: 35px;">Creating Virtual Food Pellets For You To Eat</div> </div> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/3/5/19835.jpg?v=1" /></p> <p>Most addiction-based game elements are based on this fact:</p> <p>Your brain treats items and goods in the video game world as if they are real. Because they are.</p> <p>People scoff at this idea all the time ("You spent all that time working for a sword that <em>doesn't even exist</em>?") and <a target="a" href="http://www.joystickdivision.com/2009/11/cnbc_hosts_thinks_charging_for_virtual_game_items_crime.php">those people are stupid</a>. If it takes time, effort and skill to obtain an item, that item has value, whether it's made of diamonds, binary code or beef jerky.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/4/1/19841.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">I have easily 500 hours in <em>Zelda</em> bottles.</span></p> <p>That's why <a target="a" href="http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Features/2010/01/13/48/0801000000AEN20100113009600315F.HTML">the highest court in South Korea</a> ruled that virtual goods are to be legally treated the same as real goods. And virtual goods <a target="a" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/07/technology/internet/07virtual.html">are now a $5 billion industry</a> worldwide.</p> <p>There's nothing crazy about it. After all, people pay thousands of dollars for diamonds, even though diamonds do nothing but look pretty. A video game suit of armor looks pretty <em>and protects you from video game orcs</em>. In both cases you're paying for an idea.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/9/8/7/19987.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Happy anniversary, honey.</span></p> <p><span class="Title">So What's The Problem?</span></p> <p>Of course, virtually every game of the last 25 years has included items you can collect in the course of defeating the game--there's nothing new or evil about that. But because gamers regard in-game items as real and valuable on their own, addiction-based games send you running around endlessly collecting them <em>even if they have nothing to do with the game's objective</em>.</p> <p>It is very much intentional on the developers' part, an appeal to our <a target="a" href="http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23724">natural hoarding and gathering instincts</a>, collecting for the sake of collecting. It works, too, just ask <a target="a" href="http://kotaku.com/5384643/i-kept-playing--the-costs-of-my-gaming-addiction">the guy who kept collecting items even while naked boobies sat just feet away</a>. <em>Boobies</em>.</p> <p>As the article from the Microsoft guy proves, developers <em>know</em> they're using these objects as pellets in a Skinner box. At that point it's all about...</p> <div id="Title_box"> <div class="Title">#3.</div> <div class="Title2" style="margin-left: 35px;">Making You Press the Lever</div> </div> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/3/4/19834.jpg?v=1" /></p> <p>So picture the rat in his box. Or, since I'm one of these gamers and don't like to think of myself as a rat, picture an adorable hamster. Maybe he can talk, and is voiced by Chris Rock.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/9/8/8/19988.jpg?v=1" /><br /></p> <p>If you want to make him press the lever as fast as possible, how would you do it? Not by giving him a pellet with every press--he'll soon relax, knowing the pellets are there when he needs them. No, the best way is to set up the machine so that it drops the pellets at random intervals of lever pressing. He'll soon start pumping that thing as fast as he can. Experiments prove it.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/4/6/19846.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">See? Proof.</span></p> <p>They call these "Variable Ratio Rewards" in Skinner land and this is the reason many enemies "drop" valuable items totally at random in <em>WoW</em>. This is addictive in exactly the same way a slot machine is addictive. You can't quit now because <em>the very next one</em> could be a winner. Or the next. Or the next.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/4/7/19847.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">"Holy shit! We almost won."</span></p> <p>The Chinese MMO <a target="a" href="http://www.danwei.org/electronic_games/gambling_your_life_away_in_zt.php"><em>ZT Online</em></a> has the most devious implementation of this I've ever seen. The game is full of these treasure chests that may or may not contain a random item and to open them, you need a key. How do you get the keys? Why, you buy them with real-world money, of course. Like coins in a slot machine.</p> <p>Wait, that's not the best part. <em>ZT Online</em> does something even the casinos never dreamed up: They award a special item at the end of the day to <em>the player who opens the most chests</em>.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/4/8/19848.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">And that's hardly the most ridiculous aspect of the game.</span></p> <p>Now, in addition to the gambling element, you have thousands of players in competition with each other, to see who can be the most obsessive about opening the chests. <a target="a" href="http://www.danwei.org/electronic_games/gambling_your_life_away_in_zt.php">One woman tells</a> of how she spent her entire evening opening chests--<em>over a thousand</em>--to try to win the daily prize.</p> <p>She didn't. There was always someone else more obsessed.</p> <p><span class="Title">So What's The Problem?</span></p> <p>Are you picturing her sitting there, watching her little character in front of the chest, clicking dialogue boxes over and over, watching the same animation over and over, for hour after hour?</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/4/9/19849.gif?v=1" /></p> <p>If you didn't know any better, you'd think she had a crippling mental illness. How could she possibly get from her rational self to that <em>Rain Man</em>-esque compulsion?</p> <p>BF Skinner knew. He called that training process "shaping." Little rewards, step by step, like links in a chain. In <em>WoW</em> you decide you want the super cool Tier 10 armor. You need five separate pieces. To get the full set, you need <a target="a" href="http://www.wowhead.com/?guide=3.3&amp;tier10">more than 400 Frost Emblems</a>, which are earned a couple at a time, from certain enemies. Then you need to upgrade each piece of armor with Marks of Sanctification. Then again with <em>Heroic</em> Marks of Sanctification. To get all that you must re-run repetitive missions and sit, clicking your mouse, for days and days and days. Boobies be damned.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/5/0/19850.jpg?v=1" /></p> <p>Once it gets to that point, can you even call that activity a "game" anymore? It's more like scratching a rash. And it gets worse...</p><br /><div class="Title2" style="margin-left: 35px;">Keeping You Pressing It... Forever</div> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/3/3/19833.jpg?v=1" /></p> <p>Now, the big difference between our Skinner box hamster and a real human is that we humans can get our pellets elsewhere. If a game really was just nothing but clicking a box for random rewards, we'd eventually drop it to play some other game. Humans need a long-term goal to keep us going, and the world of addictive gaming has got this down to a science. Techniques include...</p> <p><b>Easing Them In:</b></p> <p>First, set up the "pellets" so that they come fast at first, and then slower and slower as time goes on. This is why <a target="a" href="http://www.nickyee.com/hub/addiction/attraction.html">they make it very easy to earn rewards (or level up) in the beginning of an MMO</a>, but then the time and effort between levels increases exponentially. Once the gamer has experienced the rush of leveling up early, the delayed gratification actually increases the pleasure of the later levels. That video game behavior expert at Microsoft <a target="a" href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3085/behavioral_game_design.php?page=1">found that gamers play more and more frantically as they approach a new level.</a></p> <p><b>Eliminating Stopping Points:</b></p> <p>The easiest way is to just put save points far apart, or engage the player in long missions (like <em>WoW</em> raids) that, once started, are difficult to get out of without losing progress.</p> <p>But that can be frustrating for gamers, so you can take the opposite approach of a game like <em>New Super Mario Bros. Wii</em>, where you make the levels really short <a target="a" href="http://forums.indiegamer.com/showthread.php?p=198534">so it's like eating potato chips</a>. They're so small on their own that it doesn't take much convincing to get the player to grab another one, and soon they've eaten the whole bag.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/5/1/19851.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Somewhere in that bag is an angry dinosaur and a kidnapped princess.</span></p> <p>By the way, this is the same reason a person who wouldn't normally read a 3,000-word article on the Internet will happily read it if it's split up into list form. Are you ignoring boobies to read this? I've done my job!</p> <p><b>Play It Or Lose It:</b></p> <p>This is the real dick move. Why reward the hamster for pressing the lever? Why not simply set it up so that when he fails to press it, <em>we punish him</em>?</p> <p>Behaviorists call this "avoidance." They set the cage up so that it gives the animal an electric shock every 30 seconds <em>unless</em> it hits the lever. It learns very very fast to stay on the lever, all the time, hitting it over and over. Forever.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/5/3/19853.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">"Get back to Excitebike!"</span></p> <p>Why is your mom obsessively harvesting her crops in <em>Farmville</em>? Because they wither and rot if she doesn't. In <em>Ultima Online</em>, your house or castle would start to decay if you didn't return to it regularly. In <em>Animal Crossing</em>, the town grows over with weeds and your virtual house becomes infested with cockroaches if you don't log in often enough. It's the crown jewel of game programming douchebaggery--keep the player clicking and clicking and clicking <em>just to avoid losing the stuff they worked so hard to get</em>.</p> <p><b>All Of the Above:</b></p> <p>Each of those techniques has a downside and to get the ultimate addictive game, you combine as many as possible, along with the "random drop" gambling element mentioned before (count how many of these techniques are in <em>WoW</em>). They get the hamster running back and forth from one lever to another to another.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/5/4/19854.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">If the levers are far away, they may drive their adorable cars from one lever to another.</span></p> <p><span class="Title">So What's The Problem?</span></p> <p>We asked earlier if the item collection via obsessive clicking could be called a "game." So that raises the question: What <em>is</em> a game?</p> <p>Well, we humans play games because there is a basic satisfaction in mastering a skill, even if it's a pointless one in terms of our overall life goals. It helps us develop our brains (especially as children) and to test ourselves without serious consequences if we fail. This is why our brains reward us with the sensation we call "fun" when we do it. Hell, even dolphins do it:</p><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TMCf7SNUb-Q&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TMCf7SNUb-Q&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><p><object width="425" height="344"></object>This is why I haven't included games like <em>Guitar Hero</em> in this article. They're addictive, sure, but in a way everybody understands. It's perfectly natural to enjoy getting good at something. Likewise, competitive games like <em>Modern Warfare 2</em> are just sports for people who lack athleticism. There's no mystery there; everybody likes to win.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/5/5/19855.jpg?v=1" /></p> <p>But these "hit the lever until you pass out from starvation" gaming elements stray into a different area completely. <a target="a" href="http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2007/07/game-friday-when-does-addictive-play.html">As others have pointed out</a>, the point is to keep you playing long after you've mastered the skills, long after you've wrung the last real novel experience from it. You can't come up with a definition of "fun" that encompasses the activity of clicking a picture of a treasure chest with your mouse a thousand times.</p> <p>This is why <a target="a" href="http://serialganker.blogspot.com/2008/08/achievements-in-wow-patch-30-blatantly.html">some writers blasted Blizzard</a> when <em>WoW</em> introduced a new "achievement" system a couple of years ago. These are rewards tied to performing random pointless tasks, over and over again (such as, fishing until you catch a thousand fish). No new content, no element of practice, or discovery, or mastery was included. Just a virtual treadmill.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/5/6/19856.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Or a hamster wheel.</span></p> <p>Of course, game developers (and various commenters, I'm sure) would correctly point out that nobody is <em>making</em> the players do it. Why would humans voluntarily put themselves in laboratory hamster mode? Well, it's all about...</p> <div id="Title_box"> <div class="Title">#1.</div> <div class="Title2" style="margin-left: 35px;">Getting You To Call the Skinner Box Home</div> </div> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/3/2/19832.jpg?v=1" /></p> <p>Do you like your job?</p> <p>Considering half of you are reading this at work, I'm going to guess no. And that brings us to the one thing that makes gaming addiction--and addiction in general--so incredibly hard to beat.</p> <p>As shocking as this sounds, a whole lot of the "guy who failed all of his classes because he was playing <em>WoW</em> all the time" horror stories are really just about a dude who simply <em>didn't like his classes very much</em>. This was never some dystopian mind control scheme by Blizzard. The games just filled a void.</p> <p>Why do so many of us have that void? Because according to <a target="a" href="http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2009/07/3-requirements-for-a-satisfying-job.html">everything expert Malcolm Gladwell</a>, to be satisfied with your job you need three things, and I bet most of you don't even have two of them:</p> <p>Autonomy (that is, you have some say in what you do day to day);</p> <p>Complexity (so it's not mind-numbing repetition);</p> <p>Connection Between Effort and Reward (i.e. you actually see the awesome results of your hard work).</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/5/7/19857.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Notice that pants are not necessary for job satisfaction.</span></p> <p>Most people, particularly in the young gamer demographics, don't have this in their jobs or in any aspect of their everyday lives. But the most addictive video games are specifically geared to give us all three... or at least the illusion of all three.</p> <p>Autonomy:</p> <p>You pick your quests, or which <em>Farmville</em> crops to plant. Hell, you even pick your own body, species and talents.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/5/8/19858.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Annoying your Facebook friends with updates is a really annoying talent.</span></p> <p>Complexity:</p> <p>Players will do monotonous grinding specifically because <em>it doesn't feel like grinding</em>. Remember the complicated Tier Armor/Frost Emblem dance that kept our gamer clicking earlier.</p> <p>Connection Between Effort and Reward:</p> <p>This is the big one. When you level up in <em>WoW</em> a goddamned plume of golden light shoots out of your body.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/5/9/19859.jpg?v=1" /></p> <p>This is what most of us don't get in everyday life--quick, tangible rewards. It's less about instant gratification and more about <em>a freaking sense of accomplishment</em>. How much harder would we work at the office if we got this, and could measure our progress toward it? And if the light shot from our crotch?</p> <p>The beauty of it is it lets games use the tedium to their advantage. As <a target="a" href="http://www.cracked.com/article_16782_6-ways-world-warcraft-worse-than-real-life.html">we discussed elsewhere</a>, there's a "work to earn the right to play" aspect of <em>World of Warcraft</em>, where you grind or "farm" for gold for the right to do the cool stuff later. The tedious nature of the farming <em>actually adds to the sense of accomplishment later</em>. And it also helps squash any sense of guilt you might have had about neglecting school, work or household chores to play the game. After all, you <em>did</em> your chores--the 12 hours you spent farming for gold last Tuesday was less fun than mowing the fucking lawn. Now it's time for <em>fun</em>.</p> <p><span class="Title">So What's The Problem?</span></p> <p>Video game designer Erin Hoffman said it perfectly: <a target="a" href="http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ErinHoffman/20090916/3065/Life_Addictive_Game_Mechanics_And_The_Truth_Hiding_In_Bejeweled.php">"Addiction is not about what you DO, but what you DON'T DO because of the replacement of the addictive behavior."</a> She was talking about how the attraction of a simple flash game like <em>Bejeweled</em> depends entirely on how badly you want to avoid doing the work you have open in the other window.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/6/1/19861.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Wait, what was I saying again?</span></p> <p>The terrible truth is that a whole lot of us begged for a Skinner Box we could crawl into, because the real world's system of rewards <a target="a" href="http://www.johndiesattheend.com/updates/?p=1071">is so much more slow and cruel than we expected it to be</a>. In that, gaming is no different from other forms of mental escape, from sports fandom to moonshine.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/8/6/2/19862.jpg?v=1" /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Heroin: It's pretty much <em>WoW</em> in a syringe.</span></p> <p>The danger lies in the fact that these games have become so incredibly efficient at delivering the sense of accomplishment that people used to get from their education or career. We're not saying gaming will ruin the world, or that gaming addiction will be a scourge on youth the way crack ruined the inner cities in the 90s. But we may wind up with a generation of dudes working at Starbucks when they had the brains and talent for so much more. They're dissatisfied with their lives because they wasted their 20s playing video games, and will escape their dissatisfaction by playing more video games. Rinse, repeat.</p> <p>And let's face it; if you think <em>WoW</em> is addictive, wait until you see the games they're making 10 years from now. They're only getting better at what they do.</p>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-1856759230947652142010-02-20T01:21:00.000-08:002010-02-20T01:49:59.837-08:00local school officials abuse their power?? The hell you say!<div class="yn-story-content"> <p><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">(When Frontline did a story last month about technology and one portion was on laptops in school and about how teachers monitor what students are doing in the class, we saw this coming. I personally laughed the whole fucking way through reading this story. It actually broke a few days ago, but at that point there was no response from the school so we sat on it until they slithered out a statement. Fucking hilarious.)</span><br /></p><p>PHILADELPHIA – A <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_0">Pennsylvania school district</span> accused of secretly switching on laptop computer webcams inside students' homes is under investigation by federal authorities, a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told The Associated Press.</p> <p>The <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_1">FBI</span> will look into whether any federal wiretap or computer-intrusion laws were violated by <span style="cursor: pointer; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_2">Lower Merion School District officials</span>, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the investigation, told the AP on Friday.</p> <p>Days after a student filed suit over the practice, Lower Merion officials acknowledged Friday that they remotely activated webcams 42 times in the past 14 months, but only to find missing student laptops. They insist they never did so to spy on students, as the student's family claimed in the federal lawsuit.</p> <p>Families were not informed of the possibility the webcams might be activated in their homes without their permission in the paperwork students sign when they get the computers, district spokesman <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_3">Doug Young</span> said.</p> <p>"It's clear what was in place was insufficient, and that's unacceptable," Young said.</p> <p>The district has suspended the practice amid the lawsuit and the accompanying uproar from students, the community and privacy advocates. District officials hired outside counsel to review the past webcam activations and advise the district on related issues, Young said.</p> <p>Remote-activation software can be used to capture keystrokes, send commands over the Internet or turn computers into listening devices by turning on built-in microphones. People often use it for legitimate purposes — to <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_4">access computers</span> from remote locations, for example. But hackers can use it to steal passwords and spouses to track the whereabouts of partners or lovers.</p> <p>The Pennsylvania case shows how even well-intentioned plans can go awry if officials fail to understand the technology and its potential consequences, privacy experts said. Compromising images from inside a student's bedroom could fall into the hands of rogue school staff or otherwise be spread across the Internet, they said.</p> <p>"What about the (potential) abuse of power from higher ups, trying to find out more information about the head of the PTA?" wondered Ari Schwartz, vice president at the <span style="cursor: pointer; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_5">Center for Democracy and Technology</span>. "If you don't think about the privacy and security consequences of using this kind of technology, you run into problems."</p> <p>The <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_6">FBI</span> opened its investigation after news of the suit broke on Thursday, the law-enforcement official said. <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_7">Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman</span> may also investigate, she said Friday.</p> <p>Lower Merion, an affluent district in Philadelphia's suburbs, issues <span style="cursor: pointer; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_8">Apple laptops</span> to all 2,300 students at its two high schools. Only two employees in the technology department were authorized to activate the cameras — and only to locate missing laptops, Young said. The remote activations captured images but never recorded sound, he said.</p> <p>No one had complained before <span style="cursor: pointer; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_9">Harriton High School student</span> Blake Robbins and his parents, Michael and Holly Robbins, filed their lawsuit Tuesday, he said.</p> <p>According to the suit, Harriton vice principal Lindy Matsko told Blake on Nov. 11 that the school thought he was "engaged in improper behavior in his home." She allegedly cited as evidence a photograph "embedded" in his school-issued laptop.</p> <p>The suit does not say if the boy's laptop had been reported stolen, and Young said the litigation prevents him from disclosing that fact. He said the district never violated its policy of only using the remote-activation software to find missing laptops. "Infer what you want," Young said.</p> <p>The suit accuses the school of turning on Blake's webcam while the computer was inside his Penn Valley home, allegedly violating wiretap laws and his right to privacy.</p> <p>Blake Robbins told KYW-TV on Friday that a school official described him in his room and mistook a piece of candy for a pill.</p> <p>"She described what I was doing," he said. "She said she thought I had pills and said she thought that I was selling drugs."</p> <p>Robbins said he was holding a Mike and Ike candy, not pills. </p><p> Holly Robbins said a school official told her that she had a picture of Blake holding up what she thought were pills. </p><p> "It was an invasion of privacy; it was like we had a <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_10">Peeping Tom</span> in our house," Holly Robbins told WPVI-TV. "I send my son to school to learn, not to be spied on." </p><p> Neither the family nor their lawyer, Mark Haltzman, returned calls from The Associated Press for comments this week. </p><p> The remote activations helped the district locate 28 of the 42 missing computers, Young said. He could not immediately say whether the technology staff was authorized to share the images with Matsko or other officials. </p><p> Either way, the potential for abuse is nearly limitless, especially because many teens keep their computers in their bedrooms, experts said. </p><p> "This is an age where kids explore their sexuality, so there's a lot of that going on in the room," said Witold Walczak, legal director for the <span style="cursor: pointer; background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_11">American Civil Liberties Union</span> of <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1266657357_12">Pennsylvania</span>, which is not involved in the Robbins case. "This is fodder for child porn."</p><p><br /></p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">(Here's how we believe the exchange went between Vice Principal Lindy Matsko and the student Blake Robbins.)</p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Lindy Matsko: Have a seat Blake. Can you explain what these are? (places down photos)</p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Blake Robbins:...what the fuck...is, is that me? in my room?? Where did you get this?! Are you spying on me from my window?!?</p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">LM: Yes that is you Blake. In your room. We monitor students laptops from time to time to check if they are missing and we spotted you at home with some red pills of some kind.</span><br /></p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">BR: Woah woah, you monitor our laptops?! You mean you people are watching us all the time at home?! What are you, pedos?!</p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">LM: Don't change the subject! Are those pills?! Are you a drug dealer?!</p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">BR: *whew* Ok lemme say three things. One, No I am not a drug dealer because, Two, THOSE are mike and ikes candy, and Three, I'm going to <span style="font-size:130%;">SUE THE EVER LOVING MOTHER FUCKING SHIT OUT OF ALL OF YOU!</span> Do you have any idea the privacy and invasion implications this has?? The kind of laws you're breaking??</p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">LM: They are school property laptops, we can do what we lik</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">e</span>.</p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">BR: OK you say that to the judge and see if he doesn't laugh his ass off.</p><p style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">LM: Now listen young man</p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">BR: NO YOU LISTEN. I'm going to go call my mom now, who is then going to call her lawyer, the local news stations, and the FBI and by the time this is all over, you'll be lucky if they let you inept perverted fuckers stay on as crossing guards. PEACE. *storms out*</p><p><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">(At least, that's how we HOPE it happened. ^_^<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Thank you for joining us for another edition of VPAR Theater. Tune in next blog when we act out how the Supreme Court came to its decision in the corporate funding of elections case. Here's a hint. Scalia eats the whole time and Clarence Thomas locks himself in the bathroom. Goodnight. ~O_^ )</span><br /></p> </div>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-82858918557155456222010-02-15T18:56:00.000-08:002010-02-15T19:07:51.554-08:00It's beautiful...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S3oLEQzT4uI/AAAAAAAAAhk/cERvrAXphnQ/s1600-h/500x_saturn-aurorae.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 311px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/S3oLEQzT4uI/AAAAAAAAAhk/cERvrAXphnQ/s400/500x_saturn-aurorae.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438671667860857570" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DHuC8fEcffg&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DHuC8fEcffg&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />The hubble telescope took this picture of Saturn. Rarely do you see images of both Saturn and its rings, but luckily here it is. In all its blue glory. Saturn doesn't actually blink like that, its a sped up image. The blinking on top os saturn is its own version of the Northern Lights. It really quite amazing. That's all until the annual tf update. Go forward fellow rangers.The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-89675614407232411532010-02-05T18:15:00.000-08:002010-02-05T18:51:01.910-08:00The Demon Comcast rises AGAIIN! and an honorary vpar answers the call!Y'know between Obama's centrist turn, The Supreme Court allowing corporations to buy elections, The loss of Ted Kennedy's seat, and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/05/shelbys-blanket-hold-puts_n_450934.html">Senator Shelby making it clear he is bought and paid for</a>, We Action Rangers have had little to be excited about politically. But fortunately we found a small morsel to smile about.<br /><br />Its no secret that we Action Rangers loathe Comcast and their underhanded practices, megalomaniacal business model, or just plain douche like ability to fuck over everyone in their grasp. We have long reported every single dickfaced thing they've done and now with their attempted merger with NBC, their dick shaped face will have an even longer reach. Here's a quick list of what they've done, and what they will be capable of if they are allowed ANOTHER chunk of the media pie.<br /><br /><p>1) <strong>Comcast Buys Influence</strong><br />The communications industry is, after all, second only to Big Pharma in Washington influence-peddling. Comcast spent more than $5.5 million in <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/79557-comcast-ge-ramp-up-campaing-contributions-to-key-lawmakers-ahead-of-merger-scrutiny" target="_hplink">campaign contributions since 2006</a> alone to have their way in Washington. That's not counting more than $50 million they've <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30581.html" target="_hplink">spent on lobbying</a> in the past three years!</p> <p>2) <strong>How Much Is Enough?</strong><br />Comcast earned more than $3.6 billion in profits in 2009 while claiming they didn't have enough money to invest in faster Internet networks ... and while <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/17/BUOSSR22H.DTL" target="_hplink">raising rates</a> as much as 50 percent over the past five years <a href="http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Wishes-You-A-Happy-Rate-Hike-Season-104303" target="_hplink">in some markets</a>.</p> <p>3) <strong>Fat Cat CEO</strong><br />In 2008, CEO <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/107831/5-most-overpaid-ceos.html?mod=career-leadership" target="_hplink">Brian Roberts was ranked </a>as one of five "Highest Paid Worst Performers" in America. 2008 income: $40.8 million. Sitting on Capitol Hill yesterday, he raked in more than $100,000.</p> <p>4) <strong>Bad Customer Service</strong><br />Comcast ranked second only to AOL in poor customer service, according to a 2009 <a href="http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/ConsumerActionGuide/the-customer-service-hall-of-shame-2009.aspx" target="_hplink">Zogby/MSM Money poll</a>. Comcast service is so bad they drove a 75-year-old woman named Mona Shaw to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101702359.html" target="_hplink">wreck one of their stores</a> with a hammer. </p> <p>5) <strong>Comcast Lies and Plays Dirty</strong><br />In <a href="http://www.netcompetition.org/docs/pronetcomp/Cohen-Testimony-6-14-06.pdf" target="_hplink">official 2006 testimony</a>, Comcast Vice President David L. Cohen said: "If Comcast were to try to 'deny, delay, or degrade' the Internet experience that our more than 9 million cable Internet customers have paid for, how can we possibly expect to keep them as customers. ... Any provider that does not meet the needs of users will suffer from a serious backlash from consumers and policymakers." Well his company answered his own question by their very business practices. Comcast on a regular basis works to make sure they have no competitors of any kind in the areas they do business, leaving customers to take either them or no one as their cable provider.<br /></p> <p>Then in 2008, after being <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21376597/" target="_hplink">caught illegally blocking</a> content <a href="http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&amp;id_document=6519844216" target="_hplink">Cohen admitted</a>: "Comcast may on a limited basis temporarily delay certain P2P traffic." That's the same year Comcast was <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333629,00.html" target="_hplink">caught paying for seat fillers</a> at a public FCC hearing into their illegal Internet blocking. Only this year, after being censured by the FCC, did Roberts admit to the company's "mistake."</p> <p>6) <strong>Comcast Censors Political Speech</strong><br />Comcast <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/09/comcast/" target="_hplink">prevents ads from running</a> that criticize the company's political friends. They even <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/27/barry-nolan/" target="_hplink">fired a newscaster</a> who dared to question an award they were bestowing on Bill O'Reilly.</p> <p>7) <strong>Comcast Blocks Independent Voices</strong><br />Despite digging up our city streets and enjoying a near-monopoly for decades, Comcast has consistently tried to shirk its community responsibilities - including <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/131739-U_S_Judge_Blocks_Comcast_s_PEG_Move.php" target="_hplink">trying to kick</a> public, educational and government channels into the cable-tier equivalent of Siberia.</p> <p>8) <strong>Goodbye Free Online Video</strong><br />If this takeover goes through, Comcast will likely pull free NBC content from sites like Hulu and put them <a href="http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/62035" target="_hplink">behind a "paywall.</a>" In Thursday's congressional testimony, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts claimed he wouldn't, but he left wiggle room for his "TV Everywhere" scheme that would force you to pay for a cable subscription to watch your favorite Comcast- and NBC-owned shows online.</p> <p>9) <strong>Launching a Merger Wave</strong><br />Think this deal stinks? Just wait. If approved, a Comcast/NBC deal would <a href="http://www.freepress.net/files/FP_CFA-Comcast-NBC-WhitePaper.pdf" target="_hplink">set off a wave</a> of mega-deals as other companies try to keep up. If this deal goes through, you can be sure Verizon-Disney or AT&amp;T-Viacom won't be far behind.</p> <p>10) <strong>Comcast Can't Be Trusted</strong><br />It's clear Comcast will say and do anything to sell this deal and try to keep Congress and the federal regulators from getting involved to safeguard the public interest. The spin cycle is already starting.</p><p>But luckily one of our own is in the fight and he isn't going to take any bullshit. Honorary V.P.A.R. Al Franken grilled both NBC prick Jeff Zucker and Comcast's CEO as a member of the judiciary committee and made it clear he won't just roll over for the sake of campaign dollars.</p><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/clvqrfq6-Es&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/clvqrfq6-Es&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Here's hoping that Franken can gain some traction and get some of his colleagues to join because this deal juust about everybody. Cant figure out what to do? Email your congressman and senators. Its important they know that the people who vote for them do not want this. So get to it! XDThe Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-28123522883525014062010-01-29T01:58:00.000-08:002010-01-29T02:19:56.857-08:00Why The iPad Is Crap Futurism<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);">(A great article by io9 about not just the iPad, but where our technology and us with it is headed. Personally I think it sheds a light on just how retarded most of Apple's products actually are.)</span><br /><br />The real question about Apple's new multi-touch pseudo-computer, dubbed the iPad, is not whether it sucks or rocks. What all of us really want to know is whether it will change the future. The answer? Yes, <span style="font-weight: bold;">but badly</span>. <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><strong>The iPad And The World Of Tomorrow</strong></p> <p>To break it down: The iPad looks basically like an iPhone, but with a 9.7 inch screen. It runs the same software as the iPhone, can connect to the internet, and seems to work nicely for reading books, newspapers and magazines, watching video, checking Google maps, reading your email, surfing the web, and casual gaming. Like the iPhone, it has no keyboard - you can touch-type on the screen. (It also has a keyboard attachment that you can buy separately.)</p> <p><a rel="lytebox" href="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2010/01/fappletablethands108.jpg"><br /></a></p> <p>Why is this outsize version of the iPhone so important that the internet basically exploded over it yesterday? Mostly because Apple's last two new mobile devices - the iPod and the iPhone - changed the way people think about computers. They really <em>did</em> change the future, by making it glaringly obvious that computing devices are not all desktop PCs - they can be specialized music players, or telephone/internet toys that put the web in your pocket. They are the beautiful, cool poster gadgets for the mobile computer generation; they are what we imagine when we think of tomorrow's machines.</p> <p><a rel="lytebox" href="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2010/01/ipodad.jpg"><br /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><strong>The Mythical Convergence Device</strong></p> <p>The iPad promises to be just as revolutionary as its predecessors, for one reason. It embodies, as much as possible, the "mythical convergence device" that technophiles have been craving for almost two decades. The convergence device, which people began to discuss seriously in the 1990s, would be a unified gadget where you could consume many kinds of media, especially TV and the web, with the same gadget.</p> <p>This is exactly what the iPad does, helped along by the fact that so much television is available online already. And you can add books to this convergence, too (possibly even with a Kindle app). The iPad is also the perfect shape for a convergence box. Its screen is about the size of a quality paperback or small television set. There's none of that scrunching your forehead as you peer into the teeny screen of the iPhone to read a book or watch YouTube.</p> <p>What I'm saying is that the iPad appeals to a very deep and longlived fantasy in the consumer electronics world: A device that does it all. At least, if all you want to do is consume media.</p> <p style="text-align: center;">And there's the problem.</p> <p><a rel="lytebox" href="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2010/01/videodrome.jpg"><br /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><strong>Reinventing The Television</strong></p> <p>Apple is marketing the iPad as a computer, when really it's nothing more than a media-consumption device - a convergence television, if you will. Think of it this way: One of the fundamental attributes of computers is that they are interactive and reconfigurable. You can change the way a computer behaves at a very deep level. Interactivity on the iPad consists of touching icons on the screen to change which application you're using. Hardly more interactive than changing channels on a TV. Sure, you can compose a short email or text message; you can use the Brushes app to draw a sketch. But those activities are not the same thing as programming the device to do something new. Unlike a computer, the iPad is simply not reconfigurable.</p> <p> The iPad emulates television in another way, too: You can channel surf through the Apps Store, but you can't change what's playing. Every single app that's available for the iPad has to be approved by Apple first, just like apps for iPhones. That means censorship of "offensive" apps, no apps that compete with Apple (i.e., no Google Voice), and no random app somebody wrote to do whatever obscure shit you want to do. So you've got thousands of channels and nothing on. You can only keep flipping through the channels, hoping in vain to see something other than reruns of <em>Cheaters</em> and <em>Alf</em>.</p> <p>If you want something new, there are very limited ways of getting it. You can write an app, and it might be accepted to the Apps Store. Or you can write your own (unacceptable) app and hand it out to a few friends, if you and they are technically savvy enough. But most users won't be in that position.</p> <p>As futurist <a href="http://openthefuture.com/">Jamais Cascio</a> told io9:</p> <blockquote> <p>This is Apple's big push of its top-down control over applications into the general-purpose computing world. The only applications that will work with the iPad are those approved by Apple, under very opaque conditions. On a phone, that's borderline acceptable, <span style="font-weight: bold;">but it's </span><em style="font-weight: bold;">not</em><span style="font-weight: bold;"> for something that is positioned to overlap with regular computers</span>.</p> </blockquote> <p>The iPad has all the problems of television, with none of the benefits of computers.</p> <p><a rel="lytebox" href="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2010/01/stripmallbooks.jpg"><br /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><strong>Back To The Shopping Mall</strong></p> <p>So if it's not a computer, what exactly is the iPad? It could be just a really tarted-up ebook reader, which would make sense if you consider that the iPad is competing with Amazon's Kindle. So it's a reinvention of the book, a fairly old technology, but in a gleaming new package. Except that package isn't even very new, as futurist and science fiction author <a href="http://www.kschroeder.com/weblog">Karl Schroeder</a> pointed out. He told io9 that the iPad isn't about brilliant hardware innovation, and that in fact the device doesn't even use state-of-the-art ebook tech like e-ink.</p> <p>Speaking to us via email, Schroeder said:</p> <blockquote> <p>What Apple has done (again) is seize the moment with a combination of a device and a business model . . . even if e-ink provides a better reading experience for books (reading on an iPad will continue to literally mean staring into a lamp, just like reading on a computer screen), it doesn't matter because it's the total package of iTunes, iBookstore, 3G, games, apps etc. that will pull ebook readers along with it. Consider that the iPad is a closed platform that doesn't even multitask; if the technology mattered, those would be major considerations for the buyer. But they won't be, because when you buy an iPad, you buy access to the whole Apple business ecology.</p> </blockquote> <p>Looked at from this angle, the iPad isn't so much new technology as it is a shiny, pretty doorway to a mall where you can buy everything from books to movies.</p> <p>The iPad hasn't brought us forward into the future. It's taken us backward to a world of strip malls and televisions.</p> <p><br /></p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><strong>Another Vision Of The Future</strong></p> <p>So the iPad takes us back to the 1980s, or maybe even the 1950s. It's likely to be a device that changes our future, but what that means is we're facing a tomorrow where true innovation is sidelined by a device that represents a convergence of old media and shopping.</p> <p>But as John Connor would say, we can change the future. That might be as simple as pushing Apple to change its App Store policies to make iPads less like TVs and more like computers. As Lifehacker's <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5458690/the-problem-with-the-apple-ipad">Adam Pash put it</a>, "The App Store isn't exactly the problem-it's the way Apple runs and limits the App Store." He suggests that Apple could create a special "Restricted section" for its App Store. He continues:</p> <blockquote> <p>Rather than reject applications that it feels may confuse the user (like they claimed Google Voice or Google Latitude might), or applications that allow users to access naughty pictures, or even applications that it hasn't had time to vet for the App Store proper, [Apple] put those applications in the Restricted section. Before a user is able to install applications from the Restricted section, that user has to agree that the application may confuse their feeble minds, offend their delicate sensibilities, or even slow down their device. Is this such a problem? . . . Even better, [the iPad] could work like the package manager it actually is and allow users to add their own trusted repositories as sources for other applications . . . The point is, users should at least be allowed to flip some switch, somewhere on the machine, that says, "Hey computer, I'm an adult, and I take responsibility over how I use this machine."</p> </blockquote> <p>A convergence device that can also be reprogrammed the way computers can? Now we're in the twenty-first century.</p> <p>Another possibility would be for developers and investors to focus on hardware that truly is innovative and futuristic. Schroeder says:</p> <blockquote> <p>There's really nothing in the iPad that's new; if you want truly new, disruptive tech that would be at a similar price point if commercialized, look at Pranav Mistry's SixthSense and related projects.</p> </blockquote> <p>SixthSense is a gesture-controlled mobile device with a projector - you can see its telephone app at work above. You project the phone onto your hand and press the buttons. You can also use gestures to take pictures. This is truly the next step in mobile computing, and will likely revolutionize computer networks in ways we can't yet imagine.</p> <p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><strong>What Is To Be Done?</strong></p> <p>I know a lot of otherwise-savvy consumers and hackers who are already drooling over the iPad and putting in their orders. They hate the idea of a restricted device, but they love the shiny-shiny. I'm not saying that they should deprive themselves of this pretty new toy. What I am saying is that this toy represents a crappy, pathetic future. It is no more revolutionary than those expensive, hot boots I bought at Fluevog, and only slightly more useful.</p> <p>The only way iPads can truly become futuristic devices is if we hack them so that we can pour whatever operating system we want inside. We need to jailbreak these media boxes so we can install the apps we want, not the ones provided by the Apple shopping mall.</p> <p>Do not be content with a television when you can have a computer.</p> <p>Do not be content with yesterday's machines, because the future is before you. Ready to be hacked.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);">(as a former employee of Apple, getting them to open their machines to tinkering like a PC is as far from reality as one can go. Apple's entire business model is 'were what is new'. Apple will deride its own former products to make way for its younger evolution. Not only to keep with its delusional aesthetic that it creates the future, but as a way to keep you buying a brand new machine, instead of just an upgraded component. Expect Apple to continue just polishing their junk and then expecting you to thank them for it.)</span><br /></p>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-28471559122152776112010-01-11T21:43:00.000-08:002010-01-14T01:52:57.949-08:00It's The Tomorrow Show with Conan O' Brien!17 years later and still NBC hasn't learned a <span style="font-weight: bold;">goddamn thing</span>.<br /><br />This week NBC announced that though they believed in their "experiment" to move Jay Leno into primetime was a good idea, the amount of pissed off affiliates was too much to bear and are pulling the plug, aaand shoving said plug into Conan O' Brien's face.<br /><br />NBC announced that it will enact a clause in both Leno's and O'Briens contracts to allow NBC to move Lenos show to 11:35pm, and shorten to a half hour, while moving the Tonight Show to 12:05am. Away from the start time it's had for like, 50 years.<br /><br />Why is this happening? Two reasons.<br /><br />1) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Your Local NBC station flipped the fuck out.</span> Local affiliates make alot of their money from ad dollars from their local news broadcasts. So they need a strong lead-in show with high ratings to increase the amount of people who will watch the local news. Ever notice how within seconds of a 10pm hour long drama ending, the news starts up with some gripping headline of shock and crime? Now you know the reason. To try and suck all those viewers of the show that just ended into watching that news broadcast, including the commercials aired during it. OK. Well The Jay Leno Show did so poorly viewership wise, that the local affiliates saw upwards of a 50% drop off in viewership. Which made their local news adspace less profitable. Now even though the Jay Leno Show was making NBC money because its operating costs were still lower than the adspace revenue during its own broadcast. That doesn't do dick for the local WBNC's, KNBC's etc, around the country.<br /><br />2) <span style="font-weight: bold;">NBC is greedy.</span> 17 years ago NBC created one of the most dramatic news stories of the past 20 years in TV by not only not giving Letterman the Tonight Show, BUT also trying to nail him to the wall with his own contract and keep him firmly at Late Night. Basically telling him tough titty we got paper with your ink on it. From that point it caused a year long battle over the Tonight Show, which ultimately led to David Letterman leaving to CBS and leaving NBC coming off like assholes. Today isn't much different. Instead of the plethora of options available to them, NBC has decided it would rather have 4 unhappy late night hosts, than 3 and one guy off happily in the hands of the enemy. Is it business? Yes. Is it also a dick move? Yes.<br /><br />This isn't new for NBC. Back when Jack Paar left the Tonight Show, they gave him a prime-time show like Jay Lenos, except it only ran on fridays. It seems NBC has an almost <span style="font-weight: bold;">devious inferiority complex</span> when it comes to late night television.<br /><br />Of all the options available to them,<br /><br />-Give Leno a show just once a week like Paar from 10 to 11. Thus easing the pressure on affiliates.<br />-Give Leno a half hour during earlier primetime in any of the 4 slots between 8 and 10, 5 days a week.<br />-Give him a show on any of the other channels in NBC's lineup.<br />-LET LENO GO.<br /><br />They decided on the option that speaks directly to how they will screw anyone to make sure no one else gets who they feel is <span style="font-weight: bold;">theirs</span>. The whole reason ANY of this ever happened was because when O'Brien was up for renewal, he asked for a guarantee of getting the Tonight Show at some point or he would walk, so NBC forced Leno to set a retire date against his wishes, because god forbid they lost Conan then, But God forbid they lost Leno too (who began talking with ABC about taking Kimmel's timeslot), so *poof* The Jay Leno Show.<br /><br />Since the news, rumors have come in that O'Brien <span style="font-weight: bold;">wants out of his contract</span>, and FOX is courting him openly as they've never had a handle on late night and feel his demographic will play best there.<br /><br />The smallest, sad little WTF part of all this is, if it happens as NBC wants it, "Later" now called "Last Call" will be canceled after 22 years. Was it the best show? No not at all, but the WTF moment is that NBC wont even let Carson Daly go either! They're keeping him there with no foreseeable job to do.<br /><br />Now we VPAR have no qualms with Leno or his skills as a host, and we know its what he lives for, But Leno loves the Tonight Show and we expect he'll walk before he harms it, his friend Conan, or let himself be seen as an usurper once <span style="font-weight: bold;">again</span>, if even on the surface.<br /><br />Good luck guys, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">fuck NBC</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATE:</span> Conan O'Brien has since put out a statement saying the same thing. That the Tonight Show is too cemented as an institution to just shuffle around. Below is his full statement.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">People of Earth: </span></div><p style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">In the last few days, I've been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I've been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I've been absurdly lucky. That said, I've been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.</span></p><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" ></span><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> </div><p style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.</span></p><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> </div><p style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.</span></p><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> </div><p style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn't the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.</span></p><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> </div><p style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn't matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.</span></p><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> </div><p style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.</span></p><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> </div><p style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way.</span></p><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> </div><p style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Yours,</span></p><div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> </div><p style="text-align: left; color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> Conan</span></p><p><br /></p>Lets hope Jay takes the hint and steps up.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0);">Addendum:</span> </span>Alot of sensationalist "news" outlets have been reporting this story as Conan O'Brien is leaving NBC and lets be clear, that is not true. He made clear he won't do the show at 12:05am. Right now its still on at 11:35pm which is why he's still doing shows. Its up to NBC to decide what to do with Leno, and frankly Leno isn't dumb enough to think he'll have much of a career if he took the Tonight Show back IF Conan walks, after all this. But given the higher ratings this is giving Conan, you can bet NBC <span style="font-weight: bold;">will drag their feet in a decision</span> so as to reap the benefits. Popeater is reporting that Leno is <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">furious</span> with NBC for staying silent while HE gets painted as the bad guy in all this and HE'S thinking of walking. But though it seems logical, it's Popeater so who can really believe it? <a href="http://www.popeater.com/2010/01/13/jay-leno-late-night-backlash/">Though Mike Ryan there wrote a piece about Leno</a> that we VPAR <span style="font-weight: bold;">DO NOT</span> agree with in its ultimate point, but the reality concerning how Leno deserves some sympathy rings very true. More to come were sure.The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-39749113263412309222010-01-06T18:02:00.000-08:002010-01-06T18:05:09.809-08:00do I want the meal with that? FUCK NO!<p>Holy shit was a holiday season. We hope all you fellow action rangers had a great vacation. We werent due back until this coming Monday, but this bit of news had to be shared, given how much junk we our members consume on a weekly basis.<br /></p><p>Didn't think the fast food industry could get any grosser? Well it can.</p> <p>This time, it's not the food, but the soda fountains to be worried about. According to <a href="http://www.weaversway.coop/blog/" target="_hplink">Tom Laskawy</a>, a media and technology professional and blogger for <a href="http://www.grist.org/" target="_hplink">grist.org</a>, a team of microbiologists from Hollins University found that 48% of sodas tested from the fast food fountains contain coliform bacteria, which is typically fecal in origin. And most bacteria found were antibiotic resistant, as icing on the cake. </p> <p>The microbiologists published their findings in the International Journal of Food Microbiology. They tested 90 beverages from 30 soda fountains. Their <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&amp;_udi=B6T7K-4XMKB25-3&amp;_user=10&amp;_coverDate=01%2F31%2F2010&amp;_rdoc=9&amp;_fmt=high&amp;_orig=browse&amp;_srch=doc-info%28%23toc%235061%232010%23998629998%231577606%23FLA%23display%23Volume%29&amp;_cdi=5061&amp;_sort=d&amp;_docanchor=&amp;_ct=18&amp;_acct=C000050221&amp;_version=1&amp;_urlVersion=0&amp;_userid=10&amp;md5=1007cbb46b2a1bb3e5e56725fbad4fa2" target="_hplink">abstract</a> states:</p> <blockquote>...<strong>Coliform bacteria was detected in 48% of the beverages</strong> and 20% had a heterotrophic plate count greater than 500 cfu/ml. [...] More than 11% of the beverages analyzed contained Escherichia coli [E. Coli] and over 17% contained Chryseobacterium meningosepticum. Other opportunistic pathogenic microorganisms isolated from the beverages included species of Klebsiella, Staphylococcus, Stenotrophomonas, Candida, and Serratia. <strong>Most of the identified bacteria showed resistance to one or more of the 11 antibiotics tested</strong>.</blockquote> <p>Laskawy notes that only one recorded outbreak linked to a soda fountain has occurred, and that was ten years ago. But on a smaller scale, these bacteria could cause sickness on an individual level that can go unreported. </p>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-5882317332185567382009-12-23T23:00:00.000-08:002009-12-23T23:04:09.329-08:00the best protest EVAR<p>We are thinking of having a support drive. Having our french VPAR handing out miniskirts for the cause. VIVENT LA REVOLUTION! XD</p><p><br /></p><p>French youth across the country are rebelling against various new school dress codes that ban low-slung trousers, short garments and piercings, and even holes in trousers and garments above the knee.</p> <p>At Lycee Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire in Essonne, south of Paris, 300 of the 2,100 students came to school wearing short shorts or mini-skirts. And at Lycee Condorcet d'Arcachon in Gironde, 200 students protested in the streets. One student said, "We're at school, we don't want to feel like we are in a prison," according to the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/french-students-cry-libert-over-right-to-wear-sexy-clothes-1848125.html" target="_hplink">Independent UK</a>.</p> <p>Lycee Saint-Jean-Hulst in Versailles, has taken a different approach in dealing with sartorial rebels. Girls wearing short skirts are given overalls to change into, and boys sporting saggy pants are lent a pair of suspenders.</p>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-5287459518594826462009-12-21T01:06:00.000-08:002009-12-23T23:00:19.631-08:00Op-Ed: Not to mention the disposable income. XDupdate: (lets just be clear this is no way means that VPAR are against children. Have all you like. They're cool. Its an op-ed so stop emailing.)<br /><br />I feel the need to relay a large point I made earlier.<br /><br />Anyone having kids today does so out of pure selfishness. I was then asked to consider the joy and happiness a child can bring.<br /><br />That's right. YOUR joy. YOUR Happiness. What about theirs? And there-in lies the many problems.<br /><br />Kids today are bombarded with way more information than they can process. Between 24 hour non-stop, on-demand whatever they want on TV and the internet, their forcefully raised way too quick. Even if you work to keep them shielded from something, their friends are seeing it so the effort is futile.<br /><br />Not to mention the effect it has on their egos. Kids today play little league games with no winners, play soccer games where everyone's a "hero." Because god forbid a child learns how to properly deal with loss. Then between their 800 facebook friends, their 5000 myspace friends and their 300 followers on twitter their psyches are built to think people give a crap about the mundane shit they do. Now more than ever the illusion of the "american dream" of fame and fortune is perceived to be reachable because they've seen no talent nothings "achieve". Bathroom mirrors and digital cameras are two of the biggest culprits for your kids inflated sense of self.<br /><br />There's no more social conscience. Even adults today spend hours trying to find the right ringtone or laptop color that will tell the world who they REALLY are. Kids are so self involved and cold in this century of electronic detachment that they'd eat each other alive for a chance to meet a member of the Twilight cast.<br /><br />And so how do we handle it when the little starlets can't cope? Well its a product of a chemical blah blah, their midichlorian level is too high, A.D.D. this, Autism that, and so here's some pills, this will fix it aaaannd BOOM, nothing is their fault.<br /><br /><br />But SOMEONE has to be to blame and between Tyra Banks and every "DR" with a book, everything always ends up being the parents fault. You'll never win. You miss a soccer game because you had to work and before you know it your daughter has daddy issues and is dating a guy twice her age and your son is in therapy 5 times a week and can't get a hard-on.<br /><br />But NONE of that even matters because with the current state of global warming and the little were actually doing about it, kids born today will spend the second half of their life in fucking Waterworld. And Kevin Costner's hot-air balloon wont fit everybody.<br /><br />So no, I don't want kids.The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-53360522885843397832009-12-18T10:48:00.001-08:002009-12-18T11:27:46.789-08:00well NO SHIT<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/18/poll-health-care-reform-w_n_396990.html">A New Poll taken this week shows that a large majority of americans would reject a health care reform bill that has neither the public option or Medicare expansion but STILL has a buy-in mandate.</a> <span style="font-weight: bold;">NO DUH</span>. Why is the mandate <span style="font-weight: bold;">SO</span> unpopular? Well right now Senate leaders are all over Washington trying to spin that they finally have a healthcare reform bill they can pass, as long as they remove the public option and the Medicare expansion because, After all, they say that even without them, the bill still <span style="font-weight: bold;">"</span>covers<span style="font-weight: bold;">"</span> 30 million more Americans. <p>What they are talking about is that "individual mandate." That's a section of the bill that <span style="font-weight: bold;">requires every single American buy health insurance</span> or break the law and face penalties and fines. So, the bill doesn't actually <span style="font-weight: bold;">"</span>cover<span style="font-weight: bold;">"</span> 30 million more Americans -- instead it <span style="font-weight: bold;">makes them criminals</span> if they don't buy insurance from the same companies that got us into this mess."</p>Will Obama next make us ship packages only with Fedex and not the post office? Will we have to call blackwater when we hear a burglar, instead of the police? What <span style="font-weight: bold;">ELSE</span> do we have to do that will just rip us off while lining the pockets of private industry?<br /><br />We've reported in the past that we were always skeptical of Obama given the remark made by his college professor that while at Harvard everyone thought Obama was a republican. Now it seems those inklings bore fruit as he has proven that while campaigning for the little guy, he really intended to work for the big corporations.<br /><br />This bill as it stands isn't popular with too many people outside of the healthcare industry and their whores. Howard Dean has taken quite a bit of shit for commenting that the bill in its current version should be killed. Despite being ridiculed by the same White House that championed him just a year ago, he refuses to stop his criticism and <span style="font-weight: bold;">we appreciate that</span>. Here's an excerpt from his most recent op-ed piece.<span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);"><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">The truth is that health care reform was probably doomed to be deeply imperfect. As Ezra Klein pointed out a few weeks ago, we're basically in a hostage situation: progressives really, really want to cover the uninsured, while centrists whose votes are needed can take it or leave it. So the centrists have a lot of power -- which in the case of Joe Lieberman means the power to double-cross and indulge his pettiness. </span></span></span></div><p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Now, in a hostage situation there are times when you have to just say no -- when giving in, by encouraging future hostage-takers, would be worse than letting the hostages perish. So the question has to be, is this one of those times? I don't think so, given the history: as Kevin Drum points out, health reform has come back weaker after each defeat. I'd also point out that highly imperfect insurance reforms, like Social Security and Medicare in their initial incarnations, have gotten more comprehensive over time. This suggests that the priority is to get something passed.</span></p><div style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"> </div><p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51); font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">By all means denounce Obama for his failed bipartisan gestures. By all means criticize the administration. But don't take it out on the tens of millions of Americans who will have health insurance if this bill passes, but will be out of luck -- and, in some cases, dead -- if it doesn't.</span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /></span></span></span>Currently the White House is said to be FINALLY getting off their ass and trying to make the senate bill closer in form the the house bill which had a public option in it, BUT that the WH is just working to make the private plans we HAVE to buy more affordable and are happy to let the Public Option and Medicare buy in die....What an asshole...<br /><br />We ask that if you are so inclined, <a href="https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml">email your house rep and make it clear you will not tolerate having to buy overpriced shitty private insurance healthcare.</a><br /><br />Never forget, knowledge is power, and the power is YOURS! XDThe Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-89010788986397357652009-12-16T21:18:00.000-08:002009-12-16T21:27:45.468-08:00tripping the light fantasticWe V.P.A.R. have always been supporters and lovers of light graffiti, now we have some like-minded individuals who feel the same. Some l.g. artists realized that light graffiti looks a little like the things we've seen in so many science fiction films and have created accordingly. Below are some highlights of the new standard.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/SynA84gdV3I/AAAAAAAAAhU/XCLffAX0RSM/s1600-h/article-0-063fa855000005dc-705_964x642.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/SynA84gdV3I/AAAAAAAAAhU/XCLffAX0RSM/s400/article-0-063fa855000005dc-705_964x642.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416072179082942322" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/SynBEEC1L-I/AAAAAAAAAhc/tiSs3qeqeKs/s1600-h/article-0-063fa865000005dc-131_964x642.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/SynBEEC1L-I/AAAAAAAAAhc/tiSs3qeqeKs/s400/article-0-063fa865000005dc-131_964x642.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416072302438985698" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/SynA8pmL2xI/AAAAAAAAAhM/TVuvqvbo4Yc/s1600-h/article-0-063fa846000005dc-72_964x509.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 211px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/SynA8pmL2xI/AAAAAAAAAhM/TVuvqvbo4Yc/s400/article-0-063fa846000005dc-72_964x509.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416072175080430354" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/SynA8O8QgeI/AAAAAAAAAhE/TbIAq_qGfkk/s1600-h/article-0-063fa7ea000005dc-743_964x492.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 204px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/SynA8O8QgeI/AAAAAAAAAhE/TbIAq_qGfkk/s400/article-0-063fa7ea000005dc-743_964x492.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416072167925252578" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/SynA762p7II/AAAAAAAAAg8/8-kfk1a19i8/s1600-h/500x_article-0-063fa980000005dc-890_470x423.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 360px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/SynA762p7II/AAAAAAAAAg8/8-kfk1a19i8/s400/500x_article-0-063fa980000005dc-890_470x423.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416072162533043330" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/SynA7tjD8gI/AAAAAAAAAg0/sMHcy2h0Zig/s1600-h/500x_article-0-063fa89f000005dc-256_470x423.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 360px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1FRDBu9qago/SynA7tjD8gI/AAAAAAAAAg0/sMHcy2h0Zig/s400/500x_article-0-063fa89f000005dc-256_470x423.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416072158961201666" border="0" /></a>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341148630798388510.post-46235429025573107072009-12-08T17:17:00.000-08:002009-12-08T17:32:15.898-08:00hasidim but i dont believe 'em.<p>We are here today to hand out yet another prestigious honorary Vice Presidential Action Rangers Membership. We are proud to honor the guerrilla line painters of Brooklyn New York, who are letting the religious nuts know that public streets <span style="font-weight: bold;">DON'T</span> have a dress code.<br /></p><p>Below is the story. Here's hoping the lanes keep getting repainted as long as they need to. Viva La Resistance!<br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The war over Williamsburg has taken yet another turn.</p> <p>In response to last week's removal of the bike lanes in the traditionally Hasidic neighborhood in Brooklyn, a group of local bike riders took it upon themselves to repaint the bike lanes running down Bedford Avenue.</p> <p>The Hasids had asked the city to remove the bike lanes from the neighborhood, claiming the influx of bikers posed a "safety and religious hazard."</p> <p>In an interesting twist, the group of guerrilla line painters reportedly<a href="http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/12/07/hasidic-cyclists-joined-up-with-secular-riders-in-bedford-ave-re-striping/"></a> included members of the Hasidic community who are not opposed to the lanes.</p> <p>Last year the religious group complained to the community board that many of the young, female cyclists who rode through the neighborhood were "hotties," who "ride in shorts and skirts," both of which are against their dress code. </p> <p>According to the<span style="font-style: italic;"> New York Post</span><em></em>, "a source close to Mayor Bloomberg said removing the lanes was an effort to appease the Hasidic community just before last month's election." No word yet on if the lines will be removed again.<br /></p><p>(Below is a video of the heroes in action.)<br /></p><object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/19oo7Ejq9WI&amp;rel=0&amp;border=1&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/19oo7Ejq9WI&amp;rel=0&amp;border=1&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xcfcfcf&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="349"></embed></object>The Vice Presidential Action Rangershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03941741512376238126noreply@blogger.com0